The King of Mewni
by FicWriteSVTFOE
Summary: Growing up is weird. Growing up with Star Butterfly is not weird. Weird doesn't do it justice. Between the flag games, monster hordes, Pixies, invisible goats and the blessed Mewberty, I'm pretty sure I'm going to die by the time I get my drivers license. Never thought I'd have so much fun either... but don't tell Star that.
1. Downhill with a Dead Clown Seance

The King of Mewni

1 : It all Went Down Hill with a Dead Clown's Séance.

The castle walls that surrounded Marco were weathered and gray. There was moon light filtering through four tiny windows barred with black iron ornately curled and expertly crafted to look like flowers that barred any tampering. The floor was the checkered marble and much of it was cracked and white with age. At some point it must have been smooth, but that was long ago.

There was a rug that splayed out in the center of the room, made from some kind of fur he didn't recognize. It was white in the center in a small circle with the rest of the rug this old rust-red color with a small glimmer of golden stitching on its edge. The rug must have been as old as this room. Whoever stitched that border it must have painstakingly took months to get it right.

Marco could respect that, truth be told, he always wanted to learn how to stitch.

Too girly? Many things about his life reinforced it to him. Like, he wore ballerina shoes around the house. What? They were comfortable. His ring-tone was _Space Unicorn_. He liked the show when he was three but if anyone asks? It's ironic. He loved cooking, Dreamed of being a chef when he watched mom bake his birthday cake when he was eight until he burned the kitchen. Got nachos down pat before that luckily enough. He could appreciate a well-put together outfit. Color coordination was a thing he had fun with. He only had one guy friend and that was an emotionally unstable demon prince who loved _Love Sentence_. Yes, he loved love sentence to. Eh, who cares what people think, he's happy with himself.

The room was cluttered with old grand pieces of furniture. Bookcases stuffed the room with ancient hard-binded books. The range of topics was narrow: it was all about royal etiquette. No joke, there's a whole tome about the proper tea to use in every social function imaginable. It was kind of cool to learn some tea recipes, but not much else. He had a creaky four-poster bed stuffed in a corner that scratched him while he slept. He was pretty sure they use hay as the stuffing here. A massive fireplace that softly glowed with embers the fireplace itself was masterful sculpted dominated the right wall. The bevels were still strong and curves sharp. Perfectly symmetrical which was impressive if whoever made it just eyeballed it, such a pain to work with stone. He's tried before; his Dad was an artist after all. The room he was in oozed a special kind of passion. Someone poured his or her soul into this place many years ago and even now, it still held an echo of majesty.

Star recoiled at this place, but Marco saw something different. He saw the effort it took. The time to create something truly beautiful he appreciated. He's watched his dad paint and carve before, waiting for the one moment where all the splotches and marks start to make sense and you see the vision come alive. That's what this room was like to him, seeing the woodcarving of the bed, the metalwork on the candles, the solid leather binding of the books, the way the light played around the room. The attention to detail was staggering.

Star Butterfly just saw a bunch of gray, muddy brown, and pea green. She wasn't wrong in a sense. If Marco had one criticism about the room, not much care was taken to match colors together. He'd at least pair the black with some kind of rich purple or something now _that_ would be exciting. Or perhaps some velvet burgundy on the bed, white on white was just too bland. Design though. Design was a consideration as well. The amount of stuff you could do with a _fleur de lis_ here would be to die for... _Mother Mary_ he really was boring.

A crunching side started to rumble throughout the room. A guard was approaching and Marco lifted himself from his bed where he had been lounging. Just in time to see the knob of his door start to clamor and the door swing open.

" _Mr. Diaz."_ The reddish glowing eyes of a Bailiff Guard made eye contact with Marco. He spoke in a baritone rumble that suspiciously had an undertone of whirling cogs to it.

"Hello Bailey." Marco said. That was his guard assigned to him.

" _St Olga wishes to speak with you."_ He cranked.

 _"_ Is this another lesson?" Marco asked. He's been trapped here for two weeks and everyday was another thing to learn about being a _proper lady_. He's learned to roll with it, actually was pretty good at it. At least until someone comes and rescues him, any day now… Hopefully

" _As if you need anymore."_ He clunked sarcastically. " _She is requesting you join her for tea."_

 _"_ Tea?"

" _Don't make me repeat myself. Now come on"_ He cranked and without even waiting he turned from the door and started stomping down the hall. Marco only had a few seconds to stare bug-eyed at the empty space before his legs decided to work.

"What?" He muttered, bolting upwards and out the room. Strange. This was a new thing. Bailey was waiting down the hall to his left, leering at him with crossed arms.

" _Keep up."_ Bailey growled, he didn't have to speak very loud in order to be heard. Well, hard to be subtle when you're eight feet tall and built like a wall.

"Right- Sorry, just- heh- one moment." Marco gulped. Those guys were pretty scary and he knew there were a lot of them. As soon as Marco ran up to him the Bailiff guard turned without a word and continued through the academy. He kept his pace to a trudge and Marco soon found his eyes wandering.

Hard to believe just a few months ago saw rampaging delinquent princesses tearing throughout the halls here in a blaze of teenage spirit. The Bailiffs and Olga were ruthless when it came to putting the place back together. Not a single scratch was visible. The only sign was that if you passed by a window, you could see the crumbled remains of a solitary tower and the slight impression in the ground where the tower fell in the courtyard. Otherwise, the place was immaculate, if empty.

That's another thing, he was the only one here.

They passed through the teacup ballroom, and breezed through the avian duet singing grounds. Countless classrooms dedicated to formal kitchenware placement, proper posture, and the Greeting Hall Gauntlet was empty.

Bailiffs were a common sight, cleaning and dusting. Uncommon were the instructors whom all wore the same kind of serene expression and glided through the halls with an uncanny grace. The few who caught Marco's eye had given him a nod and glowing smile. Despite his situation, Marco felt a little proud of that. He prided himself on being easy to teach.

The pair walked outside and across the courtyard. The shrubs were black leaves with a sick yellow splash and the sound of clomping boots mixed in with the snap of hedge clippers as they passed by hedges slowly being reshaped into A feminine figure in an long flowing evening gown. Actually, Pony Head bit the heads and butts off of them if he remembered rightly.

A tower, grander than all the rest came into view. It was hard to miss as the door was made from a solid black wood and two bailiff guards stood at rapt attention with the arms folded tightly behind their backs. The red eye glow and permanent scowl they gave off was a deterrent in of itself.

As they approached the one on the right moved to open the door, his massive fist crushing the knob and the door opened with a aged screech. Bailey didn't stop moving and Marco picked up the pace to move past them as quickly as possible. The guards gave him the creeps.

They walked in and when the door closed the interior instantly was enveloped in an inky grayness. The only source of light coming from old candles that gave off a corona of orange. It was very unique how the candles gave off their light, a subtle craftiness that really drew out the fullest potential of every little flame.

A part of Marco wished he could do something like that...

" _Go up the stairs. All of them and don't stop."_ Bailey pointed to the side, which had the beginnings of a spiral stair case. The tower was huge; Marco couldn't tell how many levels there were looking up.

"Think you could carry me?"

" _What do you think?"_

"Yeah… sorry, dumb question. _Heh."_ Marco chuckled with a gulp. He walked up to the stairs and began to climb.

His pits stunk.

Marco was standing outside the top door, fanning his under arms. St. Olga was the head of the Academy and suffice to say, she was old school when it came to addressing her. She might actually outright refuse to talk to him due to his BO.

He began airing out his shirt, the little puffs of coolness more than welcome. He continued until he got his breath under control. Still smelled, but at least he _felt_ ready. That had to count for something, right?

Marco drew in a deep breath and raised his hand, giving three short raps on the door. It had to precisely be three, by the way, and the resulting sound must not exceed point five seconds duration and must be loud enough to reasonably fill the space of the room to be entered into even if you never been in the room before. Also, guests must allow five seconds of silence so that the occupant can respond. In the event of the occupant not responding, two knocks shall suffice as a reminder and no more. If occupant is _still_ not answering it shall be assumed either the guest is not welcome or that the occupant is incapacitated. Course of action is on the guest to try and break down the door or simply leave. If guest chooses poorly a gift basket or coffin is the proper apology gift. The kind of basket or coffin depends on the status of the occupant intruded or ignored upon-

Marco blinked… He knocked twice.

"Come in!" A shrill voice pierced through the wood. Marco opened the door and peered inside. He wasn't sure what he was expecting. "A lady glides into a room Mr. Diaz. Enter."

"Yeah- Well, I am not a lady." Marco said, opening the door fully. The room was large and richly decorated with old knick-knacks; picture frames of countless prim looking princesses each wearing the same expression.

St. Olga was attending a black-iron stove with a pipe top. A kettle was on and was softly whistling. St Olga was staring at him with a persnickety sneer. It didn't matter if it was morning or night; St Olga always, _always_ wore a formal purple dress with dainty white gloves. The dress was trimmed with black, which matched her lipstick and eye shadow. He's never seen her without make up on and her hair done up in a bun.

"No… I suppose you're not." She sighed, turning to pick up the kettle. Marco took a few tentative steps into the room. That didn't sound like Olga. She sounded resigned which was such a foreign tone out of her. What was going on here? "Please, have a seat. I will get you some tea." Olga motioned to an easy chair, dark purple with a white floral pattern on the opposite side of the room, which faced a roaring fire.

" _Suure…"_ Marco said, feeling an eyebrow begin to rise.

"Sass is a poor indicator of class." Olga snipped, opening cupboards to bring out teacups. Marco sat down, but still keep an investigative eye on her, keeping watch.

"Quiz. What brand of tea does one indulge in when _partaking_ with royalty?" Olga said with a roll of the tongue, the clacking of china stopped for a moment and she gave a brittle hum " _Partaking?_ That's not right… _Hanging?_ Ugh! Such colloquial speech will be the death of Mewnian! Perhaps- perhaps _enjoying_? Worse! Vile connotation! Oh, where is Stein when you need him…" she viciously murmured to herself.

Good that her back was to him, Marco was shooting her such a look. What in the world is wrong with this lady?

"It's… Yellow Tail."

"Hm?" Olga started, snapping her eyes to him.

"The tea. It's called Yellow Tail." Marco said. Olga frowned, the creaky gears in her head turning.

"Oh. Yes, that is correct." Olga said, surprised. She turned back around and poured the tea, a golden caramel liquid that gave off plenty of steam. The tea must be strong because the slight scent of oranges and cream began to waft over to Marco.

Olga turned fully around with a saucer in each hand and tea filled to the absolute top. She never paused and walked confidently across the room. She had a tired look to her eyes, yet Marco was drawn to how the liquid never moved despite how fast she was. Not one drop fell out of the cup as she walked over and sat down in the chair next to Marco. She handed him a saucer and Marco felt his hand start to tremble as he took it, a splash of the tea riding over the side. A sneer returned to Olga's face as she watched him fumble. "Not perfect." She quipped.

"Oh come on." Marco said.

"A lady does not waste a single drop of tea."

"Once again. I am not a lady." Marco deadpanned. Olga stared at him, the sneer fading. "Now to what do I owe the pleasure _your grace_?"

"Correct Title." Olga said after a pause, but she didn't answer right away electing to take a long draught from her teacup. Marco did the same, an absolutely delicious sweet blend of oranges and cream with an undertone of lemon, of all things. Okay, he needed this recipe.

Marco kept his eyes on Olga whom had begun to stare into her cup. The sneer was gone entirely and what was left was almost a sad, bitter expression that made Marco almost regret his tone. This wasn't the crowing woman surrounding by clockwork guards bearing down on him and Star. This was a lady with like a weight roped to her back. "Out of all the princesses I've had a responsibility to. You are by far my greatest success." Olga said.

She said it quietly, but Marco could hear it. Out of all the things he was expecting Olga to say, he can honestly say that was perhaps the _very_ last thing he expected.

"Um. Uh." Marco tried to say something, but what do you even say to that? Technically he knew he was being rude, but Olga didn't correct him. She was still focused on her tea with the same heavy expression.

"Why in the world is a _boy_ my greatest success story?" Olga said to her tea.

"Uh… Sorry."

"You've been here for two weeks and you already mastered every lesson."

"Well, it was kind of easy. I mean, it's easy to hold tea at ninety degrees."

"Bird duet? Not just a duet but you started a woodland symphony. Your plating is exquisite and your posture immaculate."

"Whoa- Uh." Marco set his teacup down and raised an arm to stop her, yet she kept going. He was lost and Olga was talking to herself.

"To be oneself is a _disservice_ to oneself. Why must girls find this lesson to be so difficult?"

"Excuse me?"

"Yet, you take to it like tea, or rather… what's the word… _water?"_

"Sure. Not like I'm here or anything."

"Why _do_ you have such ease with it Mr. Diaz?" Olga finally looked up from her tea and Marco greeted her with a scowl. Whatever kind of pity he felt ended. Olga still was an old crow as far as he was concerned. The question she posed to him just made him mad, that wasn't him _at all_.

"I _am_ myself." Marco began. Olga huffed and took another drink from her tea. "As for why I'm apparently good at this stuff? I don't know. I just like having structure is all I guess."

"Oh Piffles." She scoffed "Responsibility and expectations are not _fun_ they are _necessary_."

"Honestly? I want some responsibility in my life." Marco said, not something he said everyday, but he truly did feel that way. He wanted more out of life. Anything really. The whole proper etiquette stuff while not really applying to him, he could still appreciate it for what its worth. He liked observing the little details to things. Dad was a pro with his artwork.

Olga looked like she was willing to challenge him on that point. When they locked eyes, Marco kept a hard stare and Olga remained silent, her animosity fading into that familiar bitter expression.

"A rare quality." She offered.

"Thank you. You still have yet to tell me why you wanted to have tea with me." Olga's eyes grew wide and she started.

"My apologies, I guess I got off _rails."_ Olga stopped to sip her tea, allowing each of them a moment's rest. "I wanted to inquire about your relationship to _Star Butterfly."_

Marco's tea lodged in his throat causing him to go into a hacking fit. "Charming…" Olga sniffed, but the usual barb didn't come. Marco beat his chest.

"Y-You know about Star?"

"But of course, she is my _niece_ after all."

"Niece?" Marco could hardly keep the surprise out of his voice. "You're her _aunt?"_

 _"_ Yes. Didn't you see me at her confirmation two weeks ago?"

"Uh no?"

"I was seated in the back." Olga tried to explain but began to rub her chin a frown crossing her face. "Then again I am not tall… no matter. I was surprised to see you in a place of honor."

"Well I wasn't expecting it." Marco said, but he still was floored by the fact that this old crow was Star's _aunt._ Like, didn't she notice Star when they were here all those months ago? It's not like her disguise was all that good. Maybe she did? It was just an eye-patch really, there's no way she didn't notice.

"And then there was the whole _Farewell_ _Tornado_ spell." Olga continued.

"Don't. Please. This isn't even answering my question." Marco felt a growl in the back of his throat. He's been doing a good job repressing all of it, was probably a major reason why he took so well to the rigid lessons. He didn't want to drudge up the recent events. It made his skin feel clammy.

"It is obvious to me that you and Star are… _prospective."_ Olga said, but she brought a glove to her chin again, thinking. "Now I don't like that word… an _item?"_ Olga spoke. Marco grit his teeth, he wanted to protest, but he just wasn't sure on what to say. With all that's happened he just wasn't sure just _what_ to think even. He still didn't understand what happened. " _Romantics? Starry-eyed? Lovers?_ Uck, too mature of a word, she's fourteen for proper's sakes."

"Could you please – Just quiet?" Marco snapped, causing Olga to reel back in surprise. That wasn't like him, but he wasn't feeling like himself lately. Olga's lip became stiff, but she didn't press the issue oddly enough.

"I guess we'll just stick with _prospective_ then." She said. "Now Marco I ask because if you are to get involved I want you to be up to standards fitting of royalty." She continued, but after a moments thought she reconsidered. " _Standards,_ which you seem to have… passed quite easily actually… Come to think of it it's Star who could use some _lessons_. If only Moon would reconsider my offer."

Marco let his back arch forward, breaking posture giving him a brooding hunch. He didn't even know where to begin with that statement. Too many assumptions being made.

"Olga, I don't know alright? Star and I aren't whatever it is you think we are."

"Well." Olga said. "If not prospective, then what is your relationship to Star? She didn't focus on anyone except _you_."

"She is my friend." Marco said. That he was sure of. Star and him had each other's back no matter what and he didn't want that to change. "At least… I'm pretty sure she is. _ugh_." He grumbled.

"Certainly sounds like more than friends."

"Okay. I don't need your opinion." Marco said.

"I'm old, alone, and no one asks me how I feel. Whether you know it or not Mr. Diaz, your relationship with Star has ramifications the universe over. I intend to figure out for myself what that _relationship_ you possess will do." Olga said, leering.

"I am _not_ talking about Star with you of all people."

"I am her aunt."

"Yeah. Exactly."

"Pah! Other people's relationships are the second most popular topic amongst royalty just behind ones own _prospects_." Olga said with a sour titter. Although the wicked grin spreading across her face quickly died when it saw the the glower on Marco's face. "Oh Piffles. Fine. I shall cut you a _bait and switch."_

"You're going to do a what?"

"A bait and switch. What? Is that not the right phrase?'

"I think you meant _cut a deal_." Marco said. The idea struck him as odd.

"… Ah. That is such a better phrase." Olga said, rubbing her cheek. She's been doing that a lot Marco noticed, like a nervous tick. "The deal." Olga said. "The deal is: You tell me about Star and yourself, in return, I shall consider you _graduated_ and let you go home."

Olga sat back in her chair letting the deal float between them. She had an oily smile that crinkled the deep lines in her face. Marco had to admit, it was at least a deal with considering. Problem is though he was kind of enjoying himself here. There was something peaceful about this place he felt. Didn't have to think of anything. No need for emotions just rules, customs, and taut pinkies.

However, it has been two weeks. Deep down he knew he couldn't keep hiding forever even if he wanted to. He _knew_ it had to end eventually. Frankly, Olga was full of it. It's best to own oneself rather than suppress oneself. Marco grunted. This was all a mistake. He shouldn't have stayed here for so long he realized.

Escaping the academy would be a simple matter. He was practically an expert, but one problem was that he didn't have any dimensional scissors. Star took them from him before kicking him back to earth. Sure he could slink around the academy easily enough, but what then? Olga must have one somewhere, but he hadn't the slightest clue where. Getting back to earth would be all but impossible.

Maybe it won't be so bad talking. Not like he actually cared in anyway what Olga thought. Who cares if he opened up to her? Talking about it might actually help him way more than dumb etiquette lessons. He should quit repressing this junk and air it out.

"Fine. I accept"

" _Splendid._ Simply splendid." Olga clapped her hands in what looked like genuine joy until a look of absolute horror crossed her face. "I mean- Very well." She clamped her hands back down to her lap.

"Uh-"

"You saw nothing."

"Okay."

Olga rubbed her cheek again, inspecting her hand when she pulled it away.

"Right then. I shall get us some more tea. Talk when have your thoughts in order." She said, getting up and plucking the teacup from Marcos hand. Marco leaned back into his chair. His insides felt like they were curdling and he could feel clammy sweat start to prickle at his brow again. Olga was absolutely the wrong person to talk to about this, but what else could he do? She trapped him.

"Well. I guess it all kind of started when Star went to have a Séance for a Dead Clown."

"… _What is wrong with that girl?"_ Olga muttered to her teapot.


	2. Star-Berties at Star World

The King of Mewni

Chapter Two: But things Really Hit Rock Bottom at Star World.

"Come in!" Olga Heinous' voice pierced through the wood. Marco opened the door and walked in. He was openly fanning his pits. He didn't care about manners around Olga anymore. After talking yesterday about the dead clown séance, Marco felt okay with letting loose.

Olga was sitting in her easy chair from yesterday. She had her neck craned around to see him and it was obvious she didn't approve with that stiff lip of hers.

"Not my fault you have so many stairs." Marco stopped to shrug at her unspoken barb.

"A lady's greatest boons are her two legs." Olga said casually turning around. Marco groaned. "Oh Piffles, if you are going to be _base_ I will return it in kind. I will tell Bailey to give you extra-strength deodorant."

"It would be nice if I had any deodorant to begin with."

"Quiz. If a lady finds herself perspiring what is the appropriate action to take?"

"Slap the nearest man." Marco lifted from his memory.

"Indeed, now you know why you don't have any de-ode-der- _rant_."

"Is this really what a _lady_ is like to you?" Marco asked. He's been having trouble sleeping and the etiquette books were so dry they might as well be qualified as a sleep aid. Although sometimes he'd just come across things that he found blatantly stupid.

"There are many responsibilities expected of a lady just as there are expectations of a man. If a man is unwilling to fulfill them then we might as well just crumble our teacups and crown a monkey." Olga lectured in a tight tone. "Come. Sit and scoot the chair back so that I don't have to smell you." She motioned for Marco to take up the seat across from her.

Marco rolled his eyes and let the frustration on his face show. He walked over and sat down, scooting his chair back an inch. He noticed that the small table next to him held a teacup and saucer. It was still hot and a different scent was curling off of it, caramel and cinnamon. He reached for it and gingerly held the handle in one hand while gently clasping the saucer with his other. He lifted it slowly trying to keep it as steady as possible. Took it as a challenge yesterday and wanted to show Olga up. He could be graceful, nothing to it.

He took a sip. Despite Olga being an old crow, she brewed an unbelievable cup of tea. This one was a warm mix of cinnamon and sugar with a surprising undertone of lemon that beautifully neutralized the spicy aftertaste the cinnamon left on the tongue.

"It is delicious." Marco nodded towards her. "Do you think I could get the recipe?"

"Thank you." Olga said, a smile fighting to break out on her face. "I would be happy to give you _brewing_ _lessons_. A lady should be well-versed in everything tea." Marco took another drink. That didn't sound so bad, actually. "So. You saved my niece. Yet lost her spell book and Glossaryk of Terms along with it. Surprised sister Moon didn't send her to me right then and there." She summarized. Marco bit his tongue. She didn't know the half of it.

"It was pretty bad for everyone, but it gets worse."

* * *

Marco wasn't sure if Star realized this after eight months, but he was a light sleeper.

" _Marcoo…"_ Star's breath tickled in his ear. He was always awake early, but he liked to stay in bed. " _Diiiiaaaaaz"_ She whispered again, he felt a finger poke his temple. He cracked open an eye and turned his head. There was about two centimeters of space between his and Star's blue iris'.

"Star… what is it?" he mumbled. Star rolled, but did one too many and yelped as she fell to the floor with a muffled thud.

" _Marco!"_ She shouted, springing up. She was in her purple shimmy with her eye mask above her head. Her hair was a tangled mess that had a life of its own and it looked like she had bags under her eyes. Out of habit he looked out his window but any thought he had came up short when he saw how dark it was outside.

"What time is it?"

"It's Three."

"Go back to bed!" He sharply whispered, waggling an arm at her before rolling over.

"No no no Marco no - I need help." Star said quickly. Marco could feel her hands trying to claw at his blanket.

"What could you possibly need help with at three in the morning?" Marco said, resisting Star's pull.

"It's about Glossaryk Marco." Star said, digging her fingers into his shoulder.

"Oh." Marco relaxed himself and he let Star pull him back around. She was clasping her hands together and she was staring at him, helpless. He wasn't expecting that topic to come up so soon. They had all been driven home from the séance by Janna's mom. It was one A.M. by the time Marco was crawling into bed. He was hoping this didn't come up until after breakfast at least. "I'm sorry Star."

"It's alright." Star nodded, frowning. "But could you please help me with something?

"Of course." Marco sat back up, forcing himself to wake up. He can always catch a catnap. It's Saturday anyway.

"Okay Okay… Great." Star nodded, her shoulders sagging in relief. Her eyes were strained however Marco could see. "I need to call mom," She said, twirling some of her hair. " _But._ I kind of only call her when I mess up. So she just assumes that anytime I call her now, it's because I did something bad. So I'm a tiny bit _afraid._ " Star explained. Marco rolled out of bed on the opposite side of Star, making sure he was decent.

"Well this definitely qualifies as messing up." Marco mumbled more to himself.

" _Totally Totally Totally,_ Yeah…" Star sighed staring at empty space. "Actually is way worse, but whose caring? _ehhh_ …" She chuckled, her eyes getting flighty. Marco walked around his bed over to Star. Now he was getting nervous himself and he hesitated when he saw Star. He was almost positive that she hadn't gotten any sleep since what happened. Her eyes were red and sunken. He didn't want to think about it, but it kind of looked like she had been crying.

"You sure you want to do this now? We can always do this after we've had breakfast." Star flicked her eyes over to him before looking away.

"Not hungry. Not sleepy." Star murmured. Now that Marco was closer her face was flushed. That confirmed it. She had been crying. He reached out and placed his hand on Star's shoulder. She gave little response.

"You need to sleep Star." Marco said. He didn't think she was up for this.

" _Nah."_ Star gently removed Marco's hand. "I mean, why do we even sleep y'know? Sleeping is boring. I'm just gonna… not be boring. Which means I'm not going to sleep. Just so we're on the same page here Marco: I'm not going to sleep because I find it boring. " Star swayed, her eyes blank sheets. It's like she didn't care what came out of her mouth.

"Star." He implored. "Is there anything I can do to help? Like, I dunno maybe you want to sleep in my room or something?"

"That's just weird Marco."

"What? I got sleeping bags." He shrugged.

"I don't need your bags _Jam-Man_. Got my own _."_ Star pointed a finger at him and then at the bags under her eyes. "Can you please just do this one thing for me? I need you with me when I call mom." She pleaded. Marco could feel his nerves start to coil. He knew that this was a bad idea but when Star got something in her head she was going to do it no matter what. Only thing he could do was be present and make sure she didn't hurt herself. One of these days he will figure out a way to get something through her.

"Yeah. Sure." He said grudgingly. She must have not appreciated the tone, because she arched an eyebrow at him, frowning.

"Didn't realize it was gonna be such a bother." She groused. A protest lodged itself in Marco's throat, but Star had pushed past him and was already out the door by the time he opened his mouth.

Marco walked out of his room. Star was already halfway down the hall. He replayed Star's comment a few times in his head. He didn't like what he saw from Star, completely unlike her. He didn't think he was being unreasonable. He's just worried about her.

Star opened her door at the end of the hall, shooting a look at him. Marco nodded at her and her face softened a little bit. She nodded at him before disappearing. Marco reached the door a second after her and slipped inside. His eyes had adjusted to the darkness at this point and he could easily see Star's messy room. There was a small throw rug in the center of the room, which he gave a wide berth out of habit. It's been months and there was still a pair of Star's red boots and red socks sticking out from it. A plate of sugar cookies was placed at its side with a pink card that read _Please come out soon scary legs!_ Written in black marker.

"Stand right here Marco." Star said, jabbing a finger at a spot to her right in front of her mirror. He did what he was told, Star watching him intently. "Ready?"

"Yeah."

" _Oookay_." Star breathed out softly shaking her head. She faced the mirror and closed her eyes. She brought her hands up to her chest, lightly cupping them while she took a few deep breaths, finishing with placing them behind her back. " _Call. Mom."_ She said in a clear tone. The mirror gave a brief flash before a glare of green light flooded the room. Marco reflexively closed his eyes.

" _Calling. Mom."_ An operator's voice rang out. They waited there for several seconds in silence while the dots moved. Star's face was blank, but she stood perfectly still. " _Calling. Mom."_ The mirror repeated after a pause. Marco looked back up, forcing his eyes to get used to the light, but as soon as he did it the green glare abruptly ended and a little chime was heard. Next thing Marco knew he was looking at an enlarged picture of Star's mom's face. If Star had bags under her eyes, her mom had a whole grocery cart of them.

"Star?" Her mom said, her voice scratchy. "… And Marco?" She was surprised to see him.

"Morning _Mommy_ …" Star began. But her Mom, Queen Moon, audibly sighed while rubbing her eyes. She looked between the two silently. Her eyes settled on Star.

"What did you do?"

The resulting conversation was like waiting for a bomb to blow up in your face. He's not good at spinning things, but that didn't stop him from trying at least when he could. Star obviously wasn't prepared. She fumbled through a lot of her explanation and more often than not Moon looked to Marco for clarification. The story just got more muddled as they got closer to the graveyard and Star really started to falter through the whole séance. Marco, at that point, treated Queen Moon to a bit of a play by play of his date. However he started to grow skittish when he came onto the kiss, luckily Star had recovered at that point and took over before he could go into detail to his relief.

Eventually, Star got to the part where they lost the spell book and her voice dwindled off before she could finish. Marco jumped in again and closed out the story. It felt impossible and useless to try and cast anything in a good light, but he tried. Star was okay, at least, the one of two good things about last night.

Moon remained impassive long after the story was over.

"Did we lose connection?" Star leaned into the mirror, tapping it.

"No. No I am still here Star. I just- I just am not sure how to respond." Moon said, startling Star. "I guess I should be thankful for your friend Marco. However, I must say this is _quite_ the disappointment."

"Now when you say disappointment? Do you mean? ..."

"St Olga levels of disappointment Star Butterfly." She said. Star blinked.

"Uh. We kind of destroyed that school."

"I can still send you to her apartment sweety, she needs the money anyway."

That did it. She was already fragile as is but at the mention of St Olga her whole frame collapsed

"No! Mom you can't do that!" her hands smushed up against the glass. "It's not like I actually took the book with me, Glossaryk came along uninvited!"

"Even so. You still lost your spell book to Ludo. I am surprised Star. Genuinely surprised you would lose control of your magic in that way." Moon said in a small voice.

"No. I-I didn't mom. I don't know what happened…" Star protested weakly. "Glossaryk didn't have to come."

"What would you have me do?" Moon said. What really got Marco was that she didn't even sound angry. "You've put yourself, Marco and your friends in serious danger. My Kingdom- Your kingdom at risk due to your instability."

Marco looked between Moon and Star. Her mom was trying to be gentle with this and he could see why. Star was melting onto the floor. She tried saying something, but all that came out were just blubbers…

"Hey uh, Mrs Butterfly?" Marco stepped in front of the mirror.

"Marco." Moon was already shaking her head. "You are her _guide_ not her _shield_."

"I know. I'm not doing that." Marco said, raising his hands. "She messed up. But if she messed up, then I messed up to."

"How? You did nothing wrong Marco."

"No. I did." Marco insisted. "I wasn't there when she needed me."

"Marco I see what you are doing, and it's admirable, but you do not have to take on what should be her responsibility." Moon sighed.

"Hey. I'm not gonna let this all fall on her." Marco usually didn't press, but he didn't want to see Star get sent to Olga's so press he shall. "I know this is her thing, but she's my best friend and I'm not going to let her deal with this alone. So yes I will say I messed up. So send me to St. Olga's to I guess."

"As if I have the authority for that."

Star had gotten up from off of the floor and was staring at him. Moon didn't say anything for several seconds, electing to simply keep her eyes between Marco and Star. She looked thoughtful, but he had little idea what she was thinking. "Please step aside so that I may address my daughter." She asked suddenly. Marco hesitated, but Star stepped over automatically, gently pushing Marco out of the way. She still looked despondent and didn't look her Mom in the eye. Moon drilled her with a stare for a few moments. "… I don't think I need to tell you how lucky you are to have such an advocate for you." Her mom said in a coarse tone. Star nodded. "You two are going to _fix_ this Star Butterfly." She continued.

"Yes."

"I want to see both of you right now, in person."

"Okay… Mom, am I still going to St. Olgas?" Star talked in a wavering voice.

"I honestly should..." Moon said, but Marco's heart leapt into his throat when she trailed off and brought two fingers up to pinch the bridge of her nose. She stopped and brought her hand towards the screen, disappearing off the edge. "… But no." She finished. The mirror disconnected.

Marco felt sweat start to spring up in his pits and off his back. His whole body went weak with relief. Star stood stiff as a board teetering a bit before falling backwards and slamming onto the floor.

" _Oh my goodness you did it."_ She murmured.

"Yeah!" Marco brought up a fist.

"Marco can you get the dimensional scissors my legs aren't working."

"Oh sure." Marco went over to her nightstand. The scissors were sitting in the drawer, which he brought out and walked back over to where Star was laying. He snipped it a couple times, a white spark snapping off it. "Okay. Ready?"

"My legs aren't working."

"Well. Here. Come on." Marco reached down and grabbed her by her wrist and pulled her up. She didn't stop at just standing up and swayed herself into a hug.

" _Thank you Thank you Thank you."_ She babbled.

" _Heh,_ Don't mention it." Marco returned the gesture, feeling proud. They separated, but Star was smiling now. Perhaps the first genuine big smile since they woke up which just made him happy. He brought the scissors up and started to snip into the air. The blade started to tear a hole and when it was large enough, he stuck a hand inside and tore it open large enough so that they could step inside. "After _you_." Marco bowed, presenting the portal.

Star ran inside lashing out to grab Marco's arm and pulling him inside to his surprise. A brief flash of turquoise and white hit his eyes and Marco found himself standing in Mewni's Throne Room, his feet going from creaky wood to slapping on polished marble which was ice cold on his feet. The room was dark, save for the starlight that filtered in from the windows. The room was empty and gargantuan in size. Star was ahead of him, walking towards the steps to the throne. He looked up and was surprised to see that Queen Moon was sitting at her Throne watching them intently with a thoughtful frown.

"We're here mom!" Star yelled.

"Do not yell." Moon said. "I am exhausted."

"Sorry! Er, I mean, _sorry_ " Star jogged up the steps and Marco came up a couple steps behind her.

"Okay, so we're here. How are we going to do this mom? _Gimme the plan."_

"You are going to fix this by accelerating your training." She said. Star's pupils dilated.

"Accelerate. Awesome."

"What does that mean?" Marco asked, because Star certainly wasn't going to.

"As princess of Mewni, Star is expected to be trained and adept in the manipulation of magic before taking on the title of Queen." Moon explained. Marco felt a sharp tug on his pajamas that brought him to the floor. Star was sitting down and brought her hand back to her side. "Traditionally, training takes two years before a princess is fully capable with the Wand. Even then, learning magic _itself_ can take many more years." She continued. Star raised her hand, Moon looked at her for a second. "You don't need to do that Star."

"Question."

"… Yes sweety?"

"Will I need my wand for this?"

"Yes you will need your wand for this."

" _Ohh."_ Star said, face blank. "Uh. I'll be right back then." she rolled backwards and bounced up, whipping out her pair of scissors she snipped into the air and brought out another portal. Without missing a beat she stepped in. Queen Moon let her posture go, slouching her chin on an upright palm.

"Hey Mrs. Butterfly, can I ask you something?" Marco said, hesitant.

"Yes?"

"Is this _training acceleration_ something I should worry about?"

"No, but I take it you will worry regardless." Moon said bluntly. Marco shrugged. Well of course he was worried, that's why he asked. A beat of silence passed them as Moon regarded him. "I didn't get the chance to say this before, but thank you for what you did last night Marco. I truly am grateful that Star found someone like you." The compliment came as a surprise to Marco.

"Well-" Marco swallowed. "I mean, that's just what friends are for."

"Well I sincerely hope Star appreciates what she has." Moon was looking up at the ceiling. Marco paused. He still felt uneasy.

"Sorry, one more thing- well, two sorry" Marco broke off with a nervous chuckle. Moon looked at him. "Why are you accelerating her training and were you really serious about sending her to St. Olga's?" Marco asked. She didn't answer right away and looked like she was looking past him, which just served to make him more worried.

"If Ludo is bold enough to target her like this I just think it prudent to give Star every tool available to her." She said at last. "I understand your concern Marco, but this isn't something to get nervous about. As for your other question..." She flicked her eyes away from a moment. "Well. I'm sure you know how hard it is to work wit her. To hear that she's losing control of her magic does not bode well with me."

"Why?"

"Magic is intimately tied to the user's emotional state. I've been a teen girl before Marco I know Star is going through a lot... it is a delicate situation to put it lightly. Perhaps I was too rash, but it's certainly an option."

"Right." Marco said. Didn't sit right with him, but he wasn't about to let Star lose control. As a friend he couldn't do that.

"Back!" Star bounded out of the portal, wand in hand. "Miss anything?"

"Nope." Marco said.

"Alright, cool. Got my wand now, what do I do with it?" Star ran up the stairs. Moon brushed herself off and stood up. She walked over to Star who had sat back down next to Marco.

"If I may." Moon reached out to Star.

"Ooh, you need my wand." Star said, handing it off. Sensing a new owner, swirls of white magic encased the wand and Marco could hear the tingling of bells as the wand transformed into a thin graceful golden scepter topped with a heart shaped sapphire with one half cracked away.

"Thank you Star, now we can begin. The wand, as I'm sure you know Star, is an item of great power. A tool to focus and allow magic to reflect your will upon the world-"

"Mom I already know this."

"Well Marco does not, this is for his sake."

"Well Marco doesn't care."

"What? I care."

"See? Doesn't care. Get to the good stuff."

" _Star Butterfly_ …" Moon took a hard tone. Star whipped her head back groaning.

" _Fiine,_ crash course Marco. Magic is like the Hobo stew of the universe that you can skim with the wand but if you really want to you don't need to use a wand and dip down but that requires you to _dip_ _down_ , y'know?"

"Uhm, I don't Star."

"Star, please let me finish." Moon asked.

"Whatever, fine."

"Well, actually, I suppose Star isn't wrong. Magic is like Hobo stew…" Moon said after thinking. "The important part is that the wand is able to facilitate magic with the user's desires and wishes sculpting it into spells. The wand is what we call a _focal_ _point_." Marco listened. He wasn't sure what Hobo stew was but was chalking it up to being a Mewnian thing. Star was just splayed out on the ground mouthing along. "There are many focal points that act upon magic. More importantly though, and this is the subject for today… Star." Moon said, Star bolted up right at attention. "A person who is attuned to magic can _sense_ the focal points that are drawing upon it, and that is what we are going to do."

" _Whoaa."_ Star murmured. "Wait- I should be able to find Ludo then. He's got a wand."

"That is my hope."

"That's perfect mom!" Star rocketed to her feet, running up to her. "How do we do it?"

"To become attuned, you must face your _Heart of Hearts_." Moon said. Star grin only grew.

"What's that?"

"The Heart of Hearts is simply who you are, laid bare. Where magic is at its most powerful" Moon said. Star's grin just got bigger the more Moon said. Marco wasn't as enthused though. Although he didn't comment, this was all very much out of his depth.

"Lets do it." Star's head bobbed. "The sooner we get Glossaryk the better."

"Well wait. How do we even know what we're looking for? How is this done?" Marco chimed in.

"Oh… yeah, what Marco said." Star said.

"The Heart of Hearts is different for everyone." Moon said. "I'm sorry, but I cannot tell you exactly what it is. It's always been described to me as _you'll know it when you see it_."

"Sounds like Glossaryk." Marco grumbled.

" _Puh -_ Of course it was Glossaryk." Moon grumbled along. "However, how we go about it is thankfully straight forward. You need to fall asleep." Moon pointed at Star.

" _Aww What?"_ Star groaned. "I'm going to be asleep?"

"You are going to sleep because you will dream. A deep dream." Moon said. "While in this dream, you will see your Heart of Hearts."

" _Ahh…_ Okay!" Star chirped and let herself fall straight on her back. " _Euuuh,_ wait. What about Marco?" Star raised an arm and pointed a finger at Marco. He was curious as well if he _should_ be included. This sounded like pretty personal stuff.

"Marco can join you if you wish." Moon said, "but think on it before you decide-"

"Yeah Marco can come along." Star said without hesitation. It drew a look from her Mom. Marco also looked at her.

"Now Star did you think about it?"

"Yeah Star. Are you sure you want me poking around in there?" Marco agreed, pointing at her head. He wouldn't want Star poking around in his head in all honesty. Everyone had secrets they were entitled to. Even if Star didn't respect privacy, Marco did.

" _Whaat_? Who cares Marco, you're my _best_ _bud_. What's this _Heart of Hearts_ thing gonna tell us that we don't already know?" Star waved off the protest airily.

"You may not like what you see. Please give it some thought before you make a choice." Moon said

"I'm totally fine with it." Star insisted. "I would like Marco to come along and help. Just wait till you see my head Marco. 's where all the _magic_ happens… in _mah_ _brain."_

"Alright…" Marco said coolly. He would like to go in there to support her, but he wasn't sure about it, but if Star was okay with it he trusted her.

"Okay, ready mom!" Star took over.

"Very well." Moon said, brandishing the scepter. A swirl of blue mist started to emanate out of it. She then began to speak in a low voice: " _Magic within, Magic without."_ Moon began. The wand reacted with curls of soupy tendrils of blue seeping out, reaching out towards Star. " _Bridge to me my sacred Heart."_ the tendrils encircled Star, lifting her up into the air to Marco's surprise. Star beamed, a giddy snort escaping her. " _Reveal my wisdom, reveal my cares. Reveal my desires, lay myself bare."_

Marco watched, anxious, Watching magic always did. Star was happy, but she was floating up there pretty high. The tendrils grew brighter, bathing the room in a blue light. A tendril prodded Star's forehead and the smile fell from her face and her whole body when limp, held up by the magic. " _Give to me my Heart of Hearts."_ Queen finished in a commanding voice, pointing the scepter right at Star's body. Lightning arc'd out in a blinding white flash. Marco wrenched his eyes shut and for a moment a spike of concern slid down his spine, although when he opened his eyes and looked, he found Star perfectly okay hovering in the air asleep. "She will come down momentarily." Moon assured him, lowering the wand. "In the meantime, please ready the scissors."

"Oh, yeah." Marco nodded. He stood up, scissors in hand and watched Star indeed start to float down.

"Please be careful." Moon said, standing up and walking next to him watching Star as well. "I shall transfer her to her bed."

"Right." Marco said. Star was close enough now where Moon flicked the wand and a puffy white cloud appeared where Star gently slid.

"You may use the scissors now." Moon said. Marco stood in front of Star, snipping at the air in front of Star creating a thin tear. He dug his fingers into it and pushed it open, the portal was a deep blue with swirls of gold. Marco placed a foot at the portals edge, intending to jump in, but Moon stopped him. "I know you understand this Marco, but please respect her privacy as much as possible."

"Of course Mrs. Butterfly." Marco said with a solemn nod.

Without warning, Star poked her head out of the portal. She had a pair of springy five point stars and a crown with a sapphire embedded in its center on her head. Marco froze.

" _Marco!"_ She shouted grabbing his shirt. "You gotta see this!" She pulled him in and Marco yelped as the portal rushed to meet him.

* * *

The air shot out of his gut as he hit the ground, he saw a pair of blue high heels.

"Marco get up! Marco! Look!" he heard Star shout at him.

"Gimme a second." Marco tried to say, attempting to get up and failing. The concrete was nice at least. He felt Star grab his shirt again and he was roughly brought to his feet.

" _Looook…"_ Star grabbed his head and directed it herself. Marco squinted, but when he saw it he was at a loss for what to say.

It was a castle, the Mewni castle with multicolored towers and bulbous turrets with blue and gold flags snapping in the wind. Star let go of his head and he took more in. It was built on a hill a distance away. A massive set of white stairs led down from it's entrance with trees, shrubs, bushes, and flowers neatly trimmed on it's sides. There was a river surrounding it and the only passageway being a long arched bridge.

They were standing right in front of the mouth of the bridge. Two thin smooth black metal poles were on either side and a beige sign was hung above them. On the extreme left of the side was the black silhouette of what looked like Star's shadow striking a pose where one arm rested on a hip and the other arm was stretched outwards outward to the right of the sign. On the extreme right was the silhouette of a male figure mirroring the pose, but Marco couldn't tell who it was supposed to be.

In golden, flowery cursives were the words: _Star World_.

" _Welcome to Star World!"_ Star jumped out and landed with a flourish.

"… Whoa." Was the only word Marco could think

"Yeah I know. I never thought my mind could make something _this_ awesome!" Star gabbed. Marco looked at Star and had to do a double take. She was wearing a different outfit. Gone was her nightgown, replaced with an incredibly ornate blue dress with white trim and frills and poofs on the shoulders with it bowing out slightly at her hips.

"Uuuuh…" Marco gestured at Star. "What's with the get up?"

"Oh, I dunno! I was wearing this!" Star twirled, beaming. Marco, wondering, looked down at himself. His face fell, still in his white striped pajamas.

"Clear out!" Marco heard Star say, but got confused because Star had her mouth shut. "Get yerself _outta_ here!" To his utter bafflement, _another_ Star stomped in between them. This one was wearing her usual green and white dress and red boots. The only thing different about her was that she was wearing an orange construction hat. She cast an uncharacteristically hard stare to the other Star. Marco could only open and close his mouth, pointing wildly.

"Cool Hat." The blue dress Star said.

"Yeh, and this castle is _closed_!" The other Star spat. Construction Star noticed Marco; her hard stare turning into a full on glare.

"Now what's _he_ doing out here? No Marcos allowed in the park!"

"Uh… well-" Marco fumbled. He didn't know what was going on. He expected things to get weird with Star, but this just seemed on a whole new level.

"Oh no no no, it's cool it's cool. He's with me." Star said shaking her hands. "I'm, uh, I'm Star Butterfly… like _Star_ Star Butterfly." Star stressed. A beat of silence passed between the two Stars.

"So you telling me this here is… _Marco_ Marco?" Construction Star jabbed a finger towards him.

"Um. Yes." Marco nodded. Construction Star held her glare for a second before it softened.

"Ah." She said. "Well sorry 'bout that. We're just renovating this here castle. Closed off ya know? _Ehhh_ you know."

"No problem!" Star patted her on the back.

"What did you mean, no Marcos in the park?" Marco asked. For a split second Construction Star flinched. Happened so quickly that he almost missed it.

"I mean what I say except when I don't. Enjoy the park." She said, pushing past both of them. She got the to the bridge and to Marco's surprise, pulled out a wand and blasted the area behind her, a traffic barricade synthesizing itself into being.

"Okay – what was that?" Marco asked Star.

"I dunno." Star shrugged "I'm just as lost. She had a nice hat though right? I want one."

"Okay… _Two_ Stars?" Marco continued.

"Oh Marco there's _way_ more Stars then two. Look behind you." Star's beaming smile returned. He did just that and found himself sputtering.

He turned around to a large pentagonal pavilion, and it was absolutely filled to the _brim_ with Star Butterflies. Stars at every height, age and different outfits hustled everywhere. A Star that came up to his ankle with frizzy blonde hair tore past him wearing a poofy teal dress. There were Star's in green dresses. There were Stars in blue slacks, vests, and furry socks. Stars in sun glasses and leather jackets. Stars with a shaved head. Stars with a side-doo dyed purple. Stars with pigtails, straight-hair, and beehives and up-doos. They were everywhere, and they were all talking, shouting, dancing, bouncing, twirling, swirling and one was curling a ten-pound dumbbell.

But it wasn't all Stars. Among the crowd he could pick out others. He saw a Janna in her zombie make-up from last Halloween growling to the delight of a crowd of little Stars. There was an Oskar chilling back the border fence amongst flowers keying along on his keyboard, a mass of teen Star's huddled close to him. A King River was juggling while doing a handstand. Pony Head zipped across the pavilion air, alighting the sky in sparkles and glitter.

" _Ta Daaaa"_ Blue Dress Star sang. Marco stood there, mouth agape. He didn't know what to say. "Hey. Want some nachos'?"

"N-Nachos'? -" It was hard to take his eyes off it all, but he turned to Star who looked like she was just about ready to burst.

"Of course!" She sprang forward, clutching his wrist and diving right into the crowd. It was like hitting a euphoric wave of colors. He didn't see it the nachos first, he smelled it. Oil, salt, and cheese wafted off little food two wheelers. There was an insane line of Stars, but blue-dress Star just kept running at them.

"Star! Line!" Marco shouted when it became clear Star wasn't stopping

"Don't worry!" Star pushed past everyone, a chorus of protests erupting out of them. Marco could hardly get an apology off, but he quickly found that it wasn't really necessary. Many of them just took one look at him and walked off, any kind of anger melting away to be replaced with a smile and in some cases, a meek wave. "Alright. So what ya want Marco?" Star said when they got to the front of the line.

Marco took one look at the two-wheeler, the words _Marco's Super Amazing nachos_ were painted on the side. Well, call him crazy but he didn't think there were that many options. He looked up and stopped.

The one manning the kiosk was a Star wearing red hoodie, gray slacks, and a fake bushy moustache.

"Hi… uh wait, I mean, _Hola_."

Marco slapped his face.

* * *

They had found a bench along the edge to sit down at.

He had stopped eating his nachos'. They had cheddar, pepper jack, and sweet ricotta cheese in them and he just couldn't finish. Star was just vacuuming them up. He took this time to rest his feet and at least attempt to take everything in. He needed to focus, get his bearings.

The initial shock was wearing off and Marco looked out on the pavilion again, this time trying to take in the details. The castle dominated the front of the pavilion, clearly meant to be the focus of it all. Directly to it's right was a pathway leading into another area entitled _Tomorrow-Land_ in the same style the _Star World_ sign was in. To the left was another pathway leading to some area called _Adventure_ _-Land_. Directly opposite of the castle was an enlarged street lined with colorful two story houses. In the middle of the pavilion, a ring of brass railing roped off a small area of blue and green flowers and an empty pedestal.

"… Hey _Marco_." Blue-Dress Star talked with her mouth full. "We should go explore. I bet there's rides."

"Shouldn't we be looking for the _Heart of Hearts_ like your mom talked about?" Marco asked. Star's smile dropped.

"We _could_ I guess…" She admitted, the smile returned "or… we could go have fun."

" _Star…_ " Marco warned. "Stay focused."

"I am focused." Star brushed off. "Focused on _fun_. You _sayin' my head ain't fun Marco Diaz_?"

"Hey. Don't put words in my mouth."

"Well then let's _go_ have fun. We're gonna die of boredom just sitting around." Star rocked herself to her feet. "We can look and have fun at the same time. How bout that?" Marco stood up as well.

"I… guess. I don't know Star. I'm just here to help. We can't get distracted." Marco said.

"Well my little helper, I say let's go explore… _hmm_ … _Breakup-land_! Maybe the what of whats is over there?"

" _Heart of Hearts,_ and why do you think that?"

"Well maybe when a heart's broken… another hearts inside? I dunno. Let's go!" Star bounded away, giggling. Marco sighed. He didn't want it to devolve into this, but it looks like it was going to. He was going to be a babysitter.

"Oh don't worry dearie."

"Huh?"

"She's just excited right now. Give her time and she'll be ready soon."

Marco looked around until his eyes settled on a hunched over figure in a pink bonnet and green shag. Her wrinkles were deep with deep blue eyes. She was looking at him, smiling. She was sitting a few benches over so Marco walked over.

"… _Star_?" He chanced.

"Granny-Star!" she shouted in a crotchety voice. "Ya remember when we froze time? What a hoot! Haha!" She laughed. Marco stared at her. _Now_ he remembered. Wow, that was so long ago.

"Star!" he said, rushing over now. "Wow. You're… old."

"Hey I still remember how you were half baby half old man!" She poked him. Looking at her, Marco actually felt a laugh bubble up. This was too funny. Although Marco stopped himself, realizing what she just said.

"Wait a minute what do you mean she'll be ready soon?"

"Hah! Go have fun Marco. This is for you just as much as it is for her." Granny-Star said.

"What does that mean?" Marco said, a little frustrated. Granny-Star regarded him, unperturbed.

"Alright, I'll give you a _hint_." She said.

"Oh come on." Marco threw his hands out. Granny-Star just suppressed a giggle.

"Don't worry about the _Heart of Hearts_." She reached up, pinching his cheek letting go but Marco didn't move. "Well? Run along dearie, don't keep Star waiting." She shooed him off, lying back on the bench and closed her eyes.

"Wait." He reached out, but jerked back when a wheezy snore erupted from her. It sounded like a bicycle horn. Marco stepped away, unsure. He started getting nervous again and he could feel the sweat glands start to ramp up. What could Star have to get ready for?

Marco looked at the path to _adventure-land_ and began to walk, what Granny-Star said jumbling in his mind. He didn't even notice blue-dress Star stamping her foot at him, pouting.

"Marco!"

"Wha- Sorry!" Marco mumbled, startled.

"I found something we simply _have_ to do." She said, grabbing him by the wrist again, all but dragging him.

It was called _breakup_ _-Mountain_ and it had to do with her demon ex-boyfriend Tom. That's all that Marco could glean from his surroundings. Blue-dress Star was just running too fast for him to get his an idea of what was going on. They passed by many other Stars, but they always seemed to move out of their way. The few times Marco caught their eye they would always look away.

The entrance to the ride came up on them and there were two lanes with a sign in the middle. One arrow pointed to the left that read _General Admissions_ on the right was totally empty reading _Fast pass_. Blue-Dress Star didn't stop, ducking into the right line. Marco had to jog to keep up with her. Wish Star would slow down…

The lane eventually fed into a thin volcanic corridor and Marco found himself consumed in a warm orange and red glow. They rushed past the line in the other lane. Some would look at him, but most ignored them as they ran. Eventually, the magma corridor ended and the room opened up into a large cavern with, to Marcos amazement, a river of magma giving off a bright deep oragne glow running through the middle of it. There were sheets of obsidian that acted as steps down to the river where an attendant was hanging off of a podium, A Star Butterfly with a blue cap on looking bored. Star walked right up to the podium, giving the attendant a tap before hoping into a waiting boat. Marco came up the rear.

A flash of fear crossed over the attendants face, and a pair from the line on the left looked like they were about to get on, but slunk back to the line. Marco slowly climbed into the boat, watching those still on land. The attendant stared back, pulling the lever and the boat jostled forward.

"This is gonna be _so cool_." Blue dress Star said, "what do you think its about"

"It's called _breakup_ mountain Star."

"Oh oh oh… right."

The ride was slow and stifling. Star gently rocked in her seat, humming. Marco was just grateful to sit down. They hit a bend in the channel and lights clacked on showing a scene. There was a replica of a younger star sitting in a green ring of grass with painted trees and vines above her. A spot light was beaming on her. However, Marco noticed that off to the side, behind a bush there were three eyes peering over.

They passed the first, and more lights switched on, another scene on their opposite side opening up. A younger Tom with short cropped hair and crisp pressed blue shirt with stockings and shined black shoes was holding out a flaming flower to a frozen Star who was staring at him with wide eyes and her hands cupped over her mouth in shock

"What really did it was the _fire_ and third eye _._ It was so weird. _"_ Star commented.

What followed was a flurry of scenes. Here they were eating calzones together. There they were walking and laughing. A scene of them fighting monsters, scenes of them arguing and hugging. Tom presenting little devil horns. He wished he could appreciate it, have fun like Granny-Star said, but he just couldn't get into it, was like watching a train crash waiting to happen. The lighting was _phenomenal_ the scenes and models were beautiful but the only thing he took away was how in each scene Star just got more and more despondent and the entire tone of the scenes changed. There were more arguments, more fights, backs turned. Star looking disgusted at a strained Tom presenting a severed hand. Tom boiling over his face being painted and hair done in a ponytail. Then, the ride lurched and started to angle up.

Looking straight ahead, Marco could see daylight at the very peak but lights turned on showing a scene unlike any other he's seen. The scene was cast in a red light, flames painted in the background and a small Star was captured mid-sprint with her back hunched over and her arms over her head. Tom wore a snarl fixed up in the air, his eyes painted white and was clutching two blonde tufts in his fists. Marco felt the bottom of his stomach fall out at the sight of it. He turned to Star, aghast.

"Yeah, he was, uh, going for the _horns_ …" Star pointed at her star-band. "Yeah. Though… kinda – kinda dumb." She said. Marco tried to say something, anything. This wasn't fun. He wasn't having fun. This was stupid, why is this even a ride! "Marco get ready! Hands up!" Star tapped his shoulder, just as happy as ever.

"Star _what in the world!_ " Marco exploded. "Are you telling me Tom _tore out your hair?"_

 _"_ Nah I'm not saying that. Just what happened."

"Just what – STAR! That's horrible!" Marco shouted. It really was. He wanted off this ride. Heart of Hearts wasn't here.

"Marco _chill out_ , happened a long time ago." Star said. "Course it was bad, but, _eh_. Time flies."

" _Eh?"_ Marco parroted back. He couldn't comprehend how Star could just brush something off like this.

"Y'know you really should put your hands up." Star said.

"Why?" Marco barked, but Star wasn't the one who answered him, the ride did. It jerked to a stop with a crunching of gears and Marco was acutely aware of the sound of rushing water.

"Cause it's the _fun_ part… _Where everything falls down_." Star answered. Marco looked out and, well, saw the whole park. The castle, _tomorrow-land_ , the pavilion with people dotted like ants, he saw it all. He was terrified of heights, terrified of drops…

The boat pitched forward. Star let go of the railing with a wild yell. Marco gave a withered cry with his knuckles turning white on the railing in front of him.

* * *

"Wasn't that _fun_ Marco?" Star skipped in front of him back into the pavilion.

"That was traumatic." Marco said, his knees not working quite right.

"Ooh come on, that drop was amazing. They even took pictures. See?" Star fished the photo card out of her dress. "Theres you." She pointed to him at the time of the drop, his face white as a sheet.

"Okay." Marco clapped his hands. "Star we are not doing anymore rides."

"What?"

"I don't want to do anymore rides. Let's just see this _Heart of Hearts_ and get out of here."

"Alright. Did you see the Hearts of Hearts back there?"

"No. I didn't."

"Well… then maybe the _Heart of Hearts_ is in _Tomorrow-land_." Star said, but Marco wasn't budging. He just wanted to be done. He's had enough. If Granny-Star were to be believed Star was lying to him and he had no idea why.

"I'm not going. You can go, but I'll stay behind and actually do the thing we came here for.

"Marco. Come on… Aren't you having fun?"

"No. I'm not. How you can look at that _fire-mountain_ ride and think it fun is beyond me."

"Hey." Star rolled her eyes. "That was fun, just so ya know, sure I mean it was a bad time, but I'm happy I did it. Would rather have my hair tore out then be a lump. _Unlike some guy I know_ ww" she mumbled the last part, but Marco heard. He didn't grace that with a response. He glared back at Star's challenging prissy little smile.

"You know what Star? Just go. I'll be waiting on the bench when you get back." Marco growled. Star's smile broke, blinking as if slapped.

"Fine. I'll have all the fun then." She quipped. "Hope you have fun being a lump, _ya lumpy lump."_

 _"_ Oh I'll have way more fun." Marco dug in, Star gasped.

"Impossible." She retorted.

"Then Go. Go have your fun."

"Fine." Star was openly glaring at him. Not something he saw often. She did an about face and walked off, her steps ringing out on the brick. Marco turned to, stomping back to the bench they sat at earlier. He didn't know what was up with Star or what her deal was and sometimes he didn't think she understood what his deal was. Like she couldn't possibly fathom why he has reservations or misgivings about things, its always just sprinting full force with her and that really wound him up having to constantly try and keep up. Be nice if she slowed down every once in a while, honestly. He wasn't built for this.

"Oh Hey! You're back!" Granny-Star said, she hadn't moved from her bench. Marco snapped over to her. She was holding a sandwich, tearing off a chunk and throwing it on the ground where puppies were congregating. "Ya have fun?"

"No." Marco grumbled.

"Aw why not?

"I don't find bad break ups fun. Crazy I know."

"Aw dearie, cheer up! Wasn't it cool to see the bends? The twists? The memories? Oh and the drop! The drop was what truly made it complete." She tittered.

"I was terrified of the drop."

"Well what do you think of it now?"

"Still terrified."

"Hah! Oh well." Granny Star waved it away. "Now why aren't you with Star? Why are you sitting around?"

"I don't want to go on a ride. I want to figure this whole _Heart of Hearts_ thing. You gave me a hint to not worry about it… why? What does that mean?"

"I did say that, and that's what I mean. Stop worrying because your already here! There is nothing for you to do _except to have fun._ " Granny-Star nodded, throwing another piece of sandwich on the ground. "Up to you dearie, you can continue to sit or you can go have fun. What sounds better?" Granny-Star stood up and shuffled away, leaving Marco and leaving her sandwich. He sunk his face into his hands, muttering.

He stood back up, running back to _Tomorrow-land_.

He caught up with her coming out of a ride called _MOOOOM_! He got halfway through his apology before Star tackled him in a hug. Even though she just got off, she was more than happy to ride again. It was a rather silly ride. You sat in a dark room with a stage where this young Star, like four years old, placed frogs underneath pillows snickering and cackling. But then a voice from behind her calls out which she promptly informs the audience that it's her _mom_ to her utter horror. Steps are heard and the little Star frantically paced the room before making a mad dash for a candle, killing the lights as _mom_ comes into the room. Then you just sit there in silence as little harried breaths are heard or tiny squeaks of terror; sometimes something swishes your clothes. Marco found it all pretty ridiculous, but he did chuckle coming out of the ride. He was taken aback when he saw a trash can of all things rolling around on its own, greeting guests and laughed when Star got behind it marching along like a penguin.

He took her to see a gift shop, amazed at everything from cups, dolls, jack in the boxes, bubble wands and bubble toasters on sale. Star made him try this weird lime thing that come out like a liquid but jellified on the tongue. Marco even pointed out another ride: _Pony-Head_ _Mountain_ and they went on it twice. They got to see the whole park from a monorail, and spun around on another ride called the _Wheel of Progress_

Marco wasn't sure how much time was passing, but he threw himself into the moment, the park, everything. He hardly remembered what he did or where he went. All he knew was that Star and him were having fun.

Star laughed, her hair an utter wreck and her face paint smeared. Marco grinned chuckling while holding a toaster. They were walking back to the pavilion. Nighttime had fallen over the park and street lamps had turned on, bathing the walkways in a silvery light.

"- Tipped over the trash can guy."

"Then he did that thing with his legs."

"I know!" Star snorted. "Trash everywhere!"

"Hah! Yeah." Marco pulled the lever down on his toaster and waited a moment before it snapped back up and blue bubbles shot up. "This thing is wild."

"I got one in my secrets closet, actually."

"Yeah, I remember. Why though?"

"Dunno." She shrugged. She took the toaster out of his hands and tried it herself. He watched as the bubbles popped, chuckling.

"Y'know Star… thanks." Marco said.

"Bout what?"

"Just, everything. I really had fun. You had a point I guess." He admitted.

"No problem Marco." Star closed the distance between them a little. "I had fun to."

"Can I tell you something though?"

"What's up?

"The whole _Heart of Hearts_ … I had an interesting talk with another Star." Marco began. Star's grin lessened.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. Said not to worry about it, as I'm already here..." Marco said, "Also mentioned something about you telling me something when you're ready?"

" _Euuh…_ really?" Star mucked, coming to a stop. "You knew this was the Heart of Hearts?"

"Yeah, I was kind of mad at first, but not so much now. Just curious what she meant about what you had to tell me."

"Who told you this?"

"Like a grandma Star – remember when we saw father time?"

" _Ohh._ " She said and pouted. "Well that kind of sours things… " She muttered. "Wanted to, ah, _build up to it_."

"Star, I am not angry or anything, but could you please tell me what's going on here? You know you can tell me anything, right? Don't have to hide anything." Marco pleaded. He was tired, had a great time, but he didn't really know what to do.

"Oh I know that Marco. I know we're best friends." Star absent-mindedly twirled her hair. "It's just hard for me to say… wanted us to have a good time before I told you."

"Well I'm all ears. You can tell me."

"I had this big thing planned… in the pavilion actually _."_ Star said.

"Then let's go to the pavilion." Marco took her by the arm this time and tried to drag her but she stared at him puzzled but let herself be pulled along. It was odd taking point with her for a change, yet not unwelcome.

They walked the rest of the way. The night air calm and warm, street lamps lined the permeter of the pavilion, but Marco could see that things were certainly different. The central pedestal had spotlights on it, but where it was empty before. There was now a massive beige tarp covering something. There was a crowd of Stars huddled around it, chatting amongst themselves and each one of them held a sparkler. Marco slowed down enough that blue-dress Star began to walk past him. She had a small smile and shrugged when Marco looked at her.

"Do you like it?" She asked.

"It's pretty nice." Marco stifled a laugh. He didn't know what was happening, but it was too great. This was Star's time.

"Here." Star patted his arm and walked towards the crowd who all turned at once when she approached. They all had a soft warm smile. Marco followed close behind her. The crowd parted to let them in. Many of the Stars waved their sparklers at him as he passed.

"Well hey you two!" Granny-Star gummed at them in the center of the crowd. "You two look squeakier than a pickle!"

"Oh hey." Marco waved back. "Good to see you."

"You must be the grandma. Hi. I'm Star. Like, _Star_ Star."

"Me Too! Hah!" Granny-Star pulled Star in with surprising speed in a hug. And released Star's face was blank.

"Wow, I'm gonna make such a cool old person."

"So, take you two finally had a good time together." Granny-Star said looking between Star and Marco. Marco nodded.

"Yeah, you were right."

"Course I am!" She put a hand on her rather large hip. "Well. Glad you two had fun, but now Star. I think its time we come clean. Poor Marco looks like he's about to fall over. Hah!"

"Yeah… you're right." Blue-dress Star said. Marco kept quiet. didn't know what was happening, but it sounded like he'll find out soon enough. Granny-Star nodded and took a step back gesturing at blue-dress Star. Star turned to Marco, her face with a stitched on smile.

"Hey _Marcoo…_ " She started. "So… yeah I, uh, have something to tell you- wait." She grabbed him by the shoulders and moved him over a step. "Yeah. Yeah that's a better spot. Okay… lemme start again. I have something to tell you... About myself."

"Yes?" Marco said gently.

"It's something… Important. Huge."

"Star you can tell me. Don't worry."

"Okay… _Okay_ gonna do it I'm gonna do it… _riiiight_ now… okay now." Star mumbled, making a point of not doing it. Her eyes narrowed. "Wait. No I'm not gonna tell you I'm going to show you…" Star moved like a rag doll over to the tarp, grabbing a bunch in each hand. "Okay, Marco. Are you ready?"

"Yes Star, ready."

"Okay cool, cause I'm not… _heh_." Star gave a nervous giggle and drawing in a jittery breath. She wrenched her eyes shut and pulled. A hushed gasp cracked through the huddled group. For a moment, Marco didn't know what he was looking at, until he looked up at the statue's head…

It was a shirtless Oskar Greeson with a keyboard slung over his Torso with his legs in a wide stance. " _I love Oskar Greeson!"_ Star announced trembling. Hushed conversations broke out amongst the group. Looking around, Marco saw them talking amongst themselves, but he couldn't make out what they were saying. Their sparklers sputtered out. "It's true. I love him and I'm scared to tell him." she continued, talking to the crowd. Marco watched it all. He almost wanted to chuckle. Was that it?

"Star." Marco said softly "It's alright." Star whirled around on him, breathing heavily.

"Marco it's just that I saw you and Jackie and I thought you two just looked _so happy_ together, and that's great! You two are perfect for each other! I just want something like that in my life…" Star spoke a mile a minute. Marco gently drew her into a hug, which she gladly accepted.

"Star, _of course_ you're going find someone." Marco rubbed her back. "There's someone out there for you."

"… Do you think its Oskar?"

"Might be. You should tell me how you feel."

"I'm scared though."

"Yeah, but you know I was scared with Jackie. You shouldn't let fear stop you from telling someone how you feel." Marco continued in a soft tone. Star didn't answer him at first.

"Could you help me?" She mewed.

"Totally! I can put a good word in for you. Or better yet, how about a double date?" Marco was eager to offer help. Anything for his best friend.

"… I like the idea of a double date, can we do that sometime?"

"Of course. Whenever you want."

"Great." Star sunk into the hug and sighed. Marco chuckled.

"Does it feel better getting that off your chest?"

"Does…"

"Well I'm glad you told me. Like I said Star, you can tell me anything. Marco Diaz has an open door policy." Marco stepped away. Star looked glassy-eyed with a thin smile.

"Thank you Marco. You're a good friend."

"You to Star." Marco said, squinting at Star. He hadn't noticed before, but it was getting kind of dark. The spotlights on Oskar had gone out, it was hard to see.

"Guess that's it then, _hah_ …" Granny-Star piped up. "Alright ladies… pack it up. We're done here." She turned to the crowd. Marco jumped watching the crowd. One by one, they started to dissipate into ash and blowing away. It may have just been the darkness, but they all looked like a shade had passed over their faces.

The last to go was Granny-Star. She wasn't smiling either as she faded away. "I suggest you two make yourselves scarce. Hearts can be a capricious place." That confused him. He looked to Star, but she looked just as lost as he did. A thunderous snap echoed throughout the park, making Marco jump and the lamps ringing the perimeter shut off, washing the pavilion in total darkness.

"Star, is the dream over?"

"… _Maybe?_ I don't know."

"What happens now?"

"I really don't know. I guess now is the time to wake up?" A violet light casted itself over them. "Oh hey, there you are." Star said. Marco looked around, unsure where it was coming from, but it was getting brighter. Star screamed.

"Star!"

"There! Up there!" She pointed her pinkie and index finger above her. Marco traced it to Oskar's statue and froze, the bottom of his heart giving out and his sweat instantly flowing. There was another Star perched on the statue's head. Except her skin was deep purple and her hair was teal in two swirly pig tails. She wore a blue vest with blue furry socks and had three pairs of glossy wings that idly flapped on her back. Six arms stuck out of her side, clasping the head of the statue, a pink go coming off of her fingers. Two giant glowing pink hearts were where her eyes should have been and she regarded the pair with a lopsided grin.

" _Boyy."_ The Star-berty breathed.

"That's there to?!" Marco shouted. He felt queasy. As if taking the words as a signal, the Star-berty whipped off the statue making a beeline right for Marco.

" _RAINBOW FIST PUNCH"_ Star yelled, whipping a wand out from her dress and pointing it at the incoming Butterfly. The wand erupted into light and a rainbow topped with a multi-colored fist shot out and caught the Star-berty in the side, sending her careening off into the distance.

"I need to get out of here." Marco said, terror quickly building. "Star how do I get out of here?" but Star looked helpless.

"I- I don't know."

"There must be something we can do!" Marco tore at his hair. The violet light returned, stronger than ever accompanied by a low ominous hum. Marco whipped his head around, desperately trying to see where it was coming from. Star was looking up in horror.

" _Marco._ One thing we can do is run."

"Run? Why run?" Marco shouted. Star pointed him up, and when he did he nearly let a high-pitched whimper escape. The night sky was _thronging_ with Star-berties. "Okay. Where do we run!?" He was going out of his mind. The only thing Star said was a small whine. "STAR! We need somewhere to go!" Marco yelled and that got her to snap out of it.

"The castle!" Star hopped, pointing. Marco didn't need confirmation. As soon as she said that he tore off towards the bridge. The hum was getting louder and Marco felt the concussive force of spells that Star was sending into the sky.

The got to the start of the stairs, but more than a dozen Star-berties landed in front of them. Marco skid to a halt, but Star leap-frogged over him. " _Armored Tank Beetle!"_ She intoned and Marco felt himself shoot off the ground and his butt made contact with something hard. Next thing he knew he was reading giant glittery green horned stag beetle that was trampling its way up the steps, crushing Star-berties too slow to fly away. Some cleared their way into the air but the Beetle was quick to knock them away and the very few that got clear of _that_ Star made quick work with a blast of her wand. The beetle reached the entrance to the castle puffing away into smoke and Star and Marco rushed inside.

It looked so much like Mewni's throne room, but Marco couldn't really make out much panting and hunched over. He leapt out of his skin when a thunderous _boom_! Echoed and he looked over to see the massive doors they entered into slammed shut with Star lowering her wand.

"Okay. We should be safe." Star said, rushing over to Marco.

"Star, why isn't it over?" Marco asked. He was just a thin string away from totally losing it. He was scared and felt trapped."Didn't we do the thing you wanted to do?"

"I did." Star nodded rapidly. "Like I said Marco, I'm scared about being alone in life. That's the big thing."

"Are you sure that's it?"

"Yes!"

"Aggh!" Marco growled. He was at a complete loss at what to do

"Well wait. I'm sure there must be something." Star said. "Look around, maybe there's something here." Star ran off to the side. Marco scanned the room, but there wasn't much he saw. It might as well have been an exact replica of the Mewnian throne room. Except a lot of it was covered up in painter's tarp, cloths hanging off the walls and scaffolding pressed up against the sides. Marco walked to the end of the hall, leaving Star peering into a bucket. A pair of thrones rested on top on a raised platform with velvet red cushions and golden curled arms that gleamed, even in the dark. There was something behind the thrones that drew his eye.

"Hey Star. Come look at this." Marco called out to her. She threw the bucket and jogged over, the same blank look on her face.

It was a giant portrait of Jackie Lyn Thomas and Marco Diaz. Jackie was sitting down in shimmering green and white dress with a seashell necklace and deep green wrap around her waist, she wore a soft, coy smile. Marco was wearing a crisp grey suit with a black tie with gleaming eyes.

"You two look perfect." Star remarked. Marco didn't say anything, but he had to agree. The portrait really put them in a generous light

"Why is it here?" Marco asked.

"Not sure… But like I said you two really are perfect for each other." Star said, twirling her hair.

"Well I dunno, this is your dream. Shouldn't you be there?"

"Me? I don't have someone Marco." Star said. "I look at you two and I think to myself that I want something like that. Y'know? I want my own _Jackie Lyn Thomas_."

"You will find your _Jackie Lyn Thomas_." Marco said pumping some confidence in his tone. "If sweaty Marco Diaz can do it there is not a doubt in my mind that you can do it to." He insisted. Star continued to stare at the portrait a frown persisting.

"I guess, if I were being _totally_ honest here, I guess I'm also a little bit jealous of you two." She dropped. That made him stop.

"You are jealous of me?" Marco pointed at her and at himself. Star nodded. "Really? Magical princess of Mewni who fights monsters and gets to do magic and glitter is jealous of boring Marco Diaz?"

"Well Marco Diaz also fights monsters and has a Mewni Princess as a best friend _and also_ has a totally amazing girlfriend." Star returned and Marco stopped himself.

"I wouldn't say girlfriend."

"Oh Marco it's practically official at this point." Star rolled her eyes walking away. Marco let a nervous laugh out. He had never officially asked Jackie. Technically they went on a date, but with all the excitement from last night it all just kind of spiraled off.

"Ya hear me dream!" Star yelled out to the ceiling. "I'm jealous! Now can we stop this already?!"

Her answer came from a shattering boom from the door. " _Oh no."_ She murmured. Another boom hammered the door. Marco felt his knees go wobbly. This was it. This was where it all ended. A snarl bubbled from Star. "Okay, that's enough! I don't know what it's going to take, but we are waking up now!" A corona of green sparks and bolts started to crackle off of Star's wand. Marco wanted to say something, but another boom from the door silenced him. It was starting to crack and peels of violet light shown through it. "Marco!" Star barked, "I want you to run upstairs." She pointed behind him. He looked to see a spiral staircase off in the corner. "I will try to buy you as much time as possible and figure out a way to wake up."

"What about you though?"

"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine." She said and Marco's heart skipped a beat at what she was saying.

"What are you even suggesting? Stop."

"Marco." Star said, and another cracking boom pulsed throughout the room. "I'll be fine… I'm not _Star_ Star… I'm just a Star." She said. "All this? All this is just me. Me can't hurt me okay? Don't worry." She said, looking ragged. Marco didn't move. What she said hardly registered with him. A huge boom rocked through the room, this one shaking the foundations of the place and the door whined. It looked like it was about to give. "Marco! Up the stairs, NOW!" Star yelled at him and it was like a gunshot going through his mind. He broke for the stairs as the door finally broke and humming began to vibrate around the hall.

He hit the first few steps and a vicious flash of green tore into his eyes along with a piercing crackle of air. It was so unexpected that he almost missed the next step and bit it on the stair, but he was able to keep his balance and pound up the stairs two at a time. The humming receded as he climbed. He didn't know how high he could go, but every now and then a faint explosion would rock the castle that just got fainter and fainter as he climbed ever higher. He climbed until his throat was raw and his pits stank but he pushed and kept pushing until the humming subsided entirely. The only noise he heard was his own heart and haggard breath.

He hit the end of the stairs after what felt like an eternity, a small oak door he burst through and slammed the door shut. There was a tiny slide lock on it, which he slid into place for what little good it was going to do. The castle still rumbled, but all the way up here he couldn't really feel it.

He paced like an animal. He was in a bedroom. Four-poster bed, pink heart shaped vanity, with frames on the wall and a full-length mirror against the wall. On the opposite side of the room was a large open-air opening that was filtering in purple light. He was utterly terrified right now. There was no plan except to wait. Nothing to do. Nowhere to go. He didn't even know what he was waiting for.

It was completely silent for minutes, but then he heard that low humming that made his blood go cold. It was faint, but there and it was only getting stronger. He pressed his back against the door, his pajamas sticking to his slick back. Good thing he did that because the door bowed outwards and Marco was sent tumbling into the room. The humming stopped for a brief moment before revving up again and the door took another hit. Marco rushed to brace himself again, only to be sent careening into the room after a third massive hit, yet the door resisted. He thought he was in the clear, but then he heard this sickly _Spleching_ noise and the door gave a screech as it was torn clean off its hinges.

The good news was that it was only one Star-Berty, badly scorched. The bad news was it was a Star-Berty. It zipped into the room, gazing at him. Marco backed up, trying not to set it off.

" _Boyy."_

 _"_ Please, just- stay." Marco tried to talk although it wasn't listening. She flapped her wings, flying closer and Marco took another step back but felt his upper body flail in open air, his hands catching himself on the lip of the window. The Star-berty came mere inches from his face and reached out with a finger. Marco closed his eyes. Whatever was about to happen, he didn't want to see it.

Then, totally in the dark, he felt her finger press softly against his cheek an indescribable feeling blossoming out from it. It felt hot, for one thing. Way hotter than he had ever felt before. Like a cocktail of anxiety and twitchiness heated up to a boil. Marco opened his eyes; they stung when sweat started getting into them. The Star-Berty pulled away, the feeling receding along with it and she even flighted back. Staring at him with a blank expression. Her lips started to move, like she wanted to say something.

A shot of goo blasted from one of her hands, hitting the wall next to Marco. It happened so quickly that he backpedaled. Instead of hitting stone though like he thought he was, he felt nothing but air and pitched backwards out the window. He fell, screaming.

Marco had the air rushing up his back, looking towards the sky. The tower window raced away from him and he saw the Star-Berty rush out the window and pursue him. She looked half-mad with concern, a mask of worry as she blasted down to him. He didn't know what to do. Didn't know what to feel. It occurred to him that he just might splat on the rocks below.

Cracks of white appeared in the night sky, over the castle as well and upon the Star-berty flying down to him reaching out. He thought he would have hit the ground by now but he just kept falling, falling until there was nothing but white around him.

* * *

Marco bowled onto a hard wood flower, the air sailing out of him as he landed on his gut. He scrambled to his feet, gasping and fighting for breath around hands erratically chopping at the air.

"Oh, There you are."

" _Waah!"_ Marco yelped, twisting himself to where the voice came from. Queen Moon was seated in a chair, a book on her lap.

"Success I take it?" She asked.

"M-Mrs. Butterfly? I'm back?"

"Indeed, and if your back…" She stood up from her chair and walked over to a massive four-poster bed to Marco's right. "Then Star must be waking up soon." Marco could barely tell which way was up. He was back. _Mother_ _Mary_ he was back. He never thought he could feel so relieved in his life. "Star, are you awake sweety?" Moon murmured at the side of a bed. Marco turned around to look and saw Star nestled in her bed, pink eye mask over her face. She stirred, and then promptly threw the blankets and eye mask off of her, breathlessly laughing.

"Oh my _gosh_ that was such an amazing dream!" She jumped on the bed. "There was a park, and a castle and a Grandma Star and a gift shop and a trash can and a boat with a drop and sparklers –"

"Star. Please don't jump on the bed." Queen Moon said.

"Oh, Sorry… Marco! You were there to!" She shouted when she saw him.

"Y-Y-Yeah… I was, I, ah, had fun." He stammered. He was sweating very badly right now.

"Totally, it was such a blast." She gabbed.

"Focus Star. Remember why we did this." Moon said. "Do you feel anything? Anything at all?" Star stayed still for a moment, thinking.

"Nu-huh, nothing.."

"Hm. Okay, hold on." Moon walked past Marco, who was busy looking at the floor. Moon picked up the wand and let it give off a glow. "Alright Star, now what do you feel as I use the wand?"

Star focused again, this time she drew in a long gasp.

"It's _vibrating_."

"Excellent Star! Excellent!" Moon cheered. "That is exactly what we needed."

"I did it?"

"You did!"

"Yes! We did it Marco! We did it!"

"Y-yay…" he jerked his head up and tried to say, but to his horror it came out like a wheeze. Star's face went from happy to blank in record time. Moon was even looking at him concerned.

"Heya Marco, you okay?"

"Fine." Marco said a little too quickly. "Never better."

"Oh, Marco you're sweating." Star pointed out.

"Sorry… it's just night sweats. I get them sometimes when I'm tired." Marco lied. That was true that he was tired, but he didn't get night sweats. He felt really uncomfortably warm.

"Oh Marco… I'm so sorry you're probably exhausted."

"Uhm- yes. I am."

"Mom is there anything else for us to do?"

"No sweety, there isn't."

"Great, Great. _Go to bed Marco!"_ She commanded. Moon grabbed the dimensional scissors from the nightstand and handed them to Marco. He took a second to register that yes he did indeed have scissors in his hand before snipping a portal for himself. He didn't bother saying another word to Star and he stepped through into his room, just as he left it.

Never in his whole life was he so glad to see his bed at that moment. Didn't even get under the covers, just face planted into his blanket and it took him a few minutes before he sluggishly wrapped himself up. He looked at his clock and stared at it.

It was ten AM


	3. The Completely Normal Day

Chapter Three:

A Completely, Totally, Utterly Normal Day.

* * *

The first time Marco had to dump the boiling water in his teapot, the steam felt nice. The second time he had to? Okay sure, he messed up. Third time he took a deep breath. Fourth time he grit his teeth. Fifth time he told himself he didn't care. Sixth time he found out that he was previously lying to himself. He was now on his seventh try.

"Mr. Diaz, what word would you use that connotes foolishness?"

"Fool?" Marco returned.

"Too lazy - and stop watching the water. It doesn't help."

"Well, in that case, I was always a fan of _clod_." Marco said. He wasn't taking his eyes off this thing. Stupid stove was temperamental. First time was eight minutes. Second time was seven minutes forty-five seconds. Third time was nine minutes. He wasn't sure what he was doing wrong.

"Mmh. It doesn't speak to me. A lady must be rich in both her dowry and words. Hold on." She mused. Marco heard her flip through her thesaurus. "This kept me up all night…"

"What did?"

"The perfect word for my sister!" She crowed. "I swear my sister is such a… _an_ _Ignoramus!"_ She shouted in triumph, snapping the book shut. Marco stayed silent and watched the water start to bubble. "She's condemning Star down such an _uncouth_ path! That _willy_ _nilly_ nature of hers will be the death of the Butterfly line!"

"What are you talking about? Mrs. Butterfly's pretty cool." Marco was quick to defend her. The bubbles in the teapot were beginning to go faster. It was almost ready.

"To hear her push Star into the Heart of Hearts ritual. Unthinkable at such a _hormonal_ age!" She railed. "After hearing her dream, little wonder why she's succumbing to dark magic!" Marco let her complain and mouthed back from five seconds; taking the teapot off of the stove the microsecond he had finished his countdown. He turned off the stove and rushed it over to Olga Heinous and presented it to her.

"Seventh times the charm?" He asked, faking a smile.

"Your bubble's are too large and rapid. It is too warm. Again." All she did was glance at. Marco let loose a grunt of frustration. "Water must be on the _precipice_ of boiling Mr. Diaz. Any hotter than that and the leaves will turn to mush."

"Well it would help if your stove wasn't so inconsistent." Marco threw in her face, but she just tittered and waved it off.

"Oh Mr. Diaz it is not my _stove_ that is the problem. Flame intensity, teapot position are the things you should be concerning yourself with." Marco dumped the water for the seventh time into the sink, glaring at the teapot that just refuses to be consistent. He started up the tap again and waited as it filled. He started up the gas on the stove, lighting it up and placing the teapot in what he thought was the very center of the grate. He lowered the heat. "Honestly, it is the risk dark magic poses to us all that I opened this reform school. Why must my sister allow her such freedom? She obviously can't handle it…" Olga muttered loudly.

"Mrs. Butterfly knows how to handle things." Marco said his mouth in a stern line. She didn't know the whole story. "And Star can take care of herself."

" _Feh."_ Olga spat. "A _princess_ cannot afford the luxury of _herself_. _Especially_ a Butterfly."

"Well Star can and she will." Marco eyed his water. Getting close… again. Olga gave an unladylike tiff of breath. A few moments the only sound in the room was the quiet hiss of the stove.

"Mr. Diaz, sit down." Olga spoke up. "You can talk and boil at the same time."

Marco tore his eyes off of the teapot and looked up to see Olga watching him with a sour expression. He didn't really feel like talking today. Talking about Star's Heart of Hearts yesterday just made him confused. He had always regarded Star as a friend, but that night changed things. He never shared it with anyone and it still kind of put him on edge.

Still, Marco found himself walking back over to his easy chair and sitting down. He regarded her for a little bit. Olga had an expectant frown on her face. "So. You still think of Star as only a friend after that dream?" She asked.

"… It's complicated."

"So no, essentially."

"Stop."

* * *

 _"Okay… get a hold of yourself, get a hold of yourself."_ Marco muttered propped up in bed. It was six o'clock AM and the spring sun was filtering through his curtains. He could hear that Star was up by the muted sound of her hair drier going in the bathroom. It's been five days since he and Star did the Heart of Hearts, and this was the fourth night he had woken up in a cold sweat. He kept it to himself, but what happened that night really bothered him. Star was his friend, heck, his best friend. Although ever since that dream it was becoming impossible to ignore that Star also happened to be a _girl._

He wasn't sure if it was the kiss or the run in the Star-berty that did it. But he's started to notice things about Star that he just never thought about. For instance, Star Butterfly smelled different every single day. Saturday she came back home smelling like raspberries. Monday she smelled like blackberries. Tuesday she smelled like blueberries. Wednesday she smelled like cheese and that wasn't an accident. She literally had taken a can of spray-cheese and lathered a little bit behind her ears for that day. She also had surprisingly toned arms and the way she walked. She never simply walked. She always skipped, bounced, bobbed, jived, shimmied, rolled, spun, ran, sprinted, and trudged.

He pulled himself out of bed and shuffled his way over to his connecting door to the bathroom. " _Star is your friend."_ He mouthed. " _Nothing to be scared of."_ He turned the handle and walked in, his feet slapping on the tile and the hair drier roaring.

"Morning Marco!" Star shouted over the noise. She was looking at him in the mirror.

"Hey Star." He returned well enough. She was already dressed; her wand in one hand and a cloud of tools surrounded her. A comb was untangling knots, the hair drier was drying her hair, and a curler was curling with a hair straightener closely following, undoing all of the curler's work.

Marco stood over his sink and opened his cabinet, taking out his comb and tooth brush and began his routine. He made sure to go a little slower than usual. Maybe Star wouldn't notice and leave before he showered…

"So _Bud."_ Star clicked off her hair drier. The rest of the hair tools floated back onto the counter. She plucked her toothbrush and toothpaste from the mess on her side. She never let go of her wand. "Can I get your opinion on something?"

"Yeah?" Marco asked and found Star placing her wrist over his nose. He put his head back, a little surprised.

"Smell."

"Uh- O-Okay." He stammered. He started and stopped a few times before giving a tiny sniff. She smelled like pancakes…"Star. Is this syrup?"

"Uh huh!"

"Star wash it off."

"No way. _I found who I am Marco."_

"You're going to be sticky and attract flies." Marco looked over at her side of the sink. The syrup bottle from their kitchen was in the corner surrounded by tissues and bobby pins. He reached for it, but Star pointed her wand at his hand and zapped it. Marco shot his hand back, yelping.

"My syrup."

"It needs to go back to the kitchen Star."

"I'll put it back when I'm done." Star said, piling on an obscene amount of toothpaste on her toothbrush. Marco sighed, bringing the comb up into his hair. He'll do it later. She was not going to. He combed, listening to Star wrestle with her toothbrush. He finished and put everything back, bringing out the floss. Normally he didn't do it until after showering but Star was still around. Star flicked her eyes over at him and he met her eyes. " _Mmm Mmm Mmm?"_ She pointed at his floss.

"Changing things up."

" _Mm. Mm?"_

"What? I'm not allowed to change things up?"

" _mmmmmmmuh."_ She hummed, pulling the toothbrush out of her mouth and spitting. "Marco you never change things up." She said.

"That's not true." Marco said. Star flapped her lips.

"Yeah. _Okay Marco_." She said. He rolled his eyes. "Ya want Pancakes? I'm feeling pancakes." Star asked.

"We have some in the freezer." Marco said.

" _Cool. Cool…"_ she drawled. She took a step back from the sink, just loitering. "You, ah, gonna hop in the shower or did you just decide to skip it or something?" She asked. He stopped, hissing.

"I will get in the shower Star."

"Like now or…"

"When you leave." Marco said. Star frowned. Marco cringed. She found out what he was doing. She always liked to sit around and talk a bit while he was in the shower, but now it just felt weird.

"Oh – right… Sorry."

"Sorry. Do you want any syrup on your pancakes?"

"Oh, yeah, I do actually." Star walked over and grabbed the syrup bottle walking back. "How many pancakes do you want?"

"Just two please."

"Right." She said walking out.

He waited two minutes before running in and starting to undress.

"Now to make this easier for you degenerates to remember. To calculate the Cosine you use the adjacent and the hypotenuse. To find the sine you use opposite and the tangent. To find the tangent you use the opposite and the adjacent. We abbreviate this by calling it SohCahToa who's a Native American…" Miss Skullnich rumbled.

Marco nodded slightly to himself, jotting notes down in his journal. He always was grateful for class, but today he was especially glad for it. He didn't have to do anything except listen. The same couldn't be said for Star. He always glanced over at her occasionally. Ever since she freed the class hamster Marisaul, he'd felt compelled to keep an eye on her. Last time he checked Star's boots and socks were up in the air.

Riding the bus and walking to class felt like moving through sludge. Since when were skirts and pants so short? When did girl's voices sound so high? It felt like walking through a funhouse of mirrors where gawking at the mirrors gets you slapped.

His phone itched in his pocket. He carefully brought it out and rested it on his thigh. It was a text message from Star.

* * *

 _Star Butterfly_

* * *

 _Anchovies or Pineapple? :P_

 _?_

 _Pizza tonight Marco. What topping?_

 _?_

 _Friendship Thursday doof.  
What topping?_

* * *

The blood drained out of Marco's face. He had totally forgotten about Friendship Thursday.

* * *

 _Star Buttefly_

* * *

 _Oh._

 _Not a topping Marco. What topping?_

 _not tonight._

* * *

He looked over at Star's feet. They were relaxed before but now they were straightened out.

* * *

 _Star Butterfly_

* * *

 _What._

 _Sorry!_

 _Why?_

 _Library with Jackie_

 _On Thursday!? Why not Friday?_

 _Can't do Friday._

 _How about Library Saturday?_

 _How about we do Friendship Friday :D?_

 _YOU CANT JUST CHANGE THE NAME  
MARCO DIAZ _(╯°□°) ╯ ┻━┻

* * *

He stared at his phone and back at Star's feet. Her boots were clacked together and were pointed at him. He got the distinct impression they were acting like some sort of periscope. He really didn't know how to respond…

* * *

 _Star Butterfly_

* * *

 _YOU CANT JUST CHANGE THE NAME  
MARCO DIAZ _(╯°□°) ╯ ┻━┻

(L･_･)L ┳━┳

* * *

He put the phone back in his pocket. He missed enough notes and he can talk to Star about this at lunch. Although he only got about five seconds into his notes before his phone started to vibrate again. He ignored it.

His phone vibrated again and again, and then he started to hear Star's boots start to click together. He ignored it. His phone started to ring. He ignored it… Until he remembered what his ring tone was that was now the only thing heard in the room.

 _'SPACE UNICORN!'  
FALLING THROUGH THE STARS!'_

The whole class laughed, even Miss Skullnich.

* * *

"Marco how in the world can you forget that Friendship Thursday are on Thursdays!" Star cried.

"Well how can _you_ forget to not call me in class!" Marco shot back.

" _Sheesh._ Get a room you two." Janna mumbled at her carrots.

" _Uh._ We are in a room Janna _it's just really really big_." Star corrected her.

"Something smaller than the lunch room." Janna returned.

"Oh yeah sure." Star nodded. "We _could_ be in a nice old TV room with a snuggie and pizza and shows but _some people_ , not naming any names, have SO MUCH BETTER THINGS TO DO!" Star pushed her body over the table, further and further at Marco's direction until she was lying on her stomach on the table.

"Star we can still do that!" Marco threw his hands up. "This is the only day that works for me and Jackie this week."

"Star, I think you need to calm down." Janna said. Star was staring balloon daggers at Marco who was just glaring back at her. He had no idea what crawled up Stars butt but he was having none of it. He was _going_ on a date with Jackie and Star was going to live with it.

"Fine." Star slinked back into her seat. "Gonna have friendship Thursday by myself."

"Why not have Pony-Head come?" Marco asked.

"Not her thing." Star shook her head.

"Well… if I'm not gonna be there you don't have to do the whole TV and snuggie thing." Marco offered. "You and Pony-Head can go do something way more fun than just sitting around in snuggies all night. Like the Bounce Lounge."

Star sat there, glowering at him. He wasn't sure what else he could do besides cancel on Jackie and he simply was not going to do that.

"Well I have fun with snuggies…" Star said, at that, standing up. "Going to the bathroom." She walked towards the wall and without missing a beat, shot a ray that opened a hole, which she walked through. Once outside she raised her wand and brought it down, rocketing away on a rainbow and bunnies towards their house. She never liked the bathrooms at school.

He was confused. He didn't think it was going to be that big of a deal honestly.

"Well now that _she's_ gone…" Janna slid her way next to him. Uncomfortably close with the grin of a snake. She left the implication just sort of hang between them, and normally, Marco would just be annoyed. Although with all that's happened recently he found himself just uncomfortable.

"Janna I'm just not in the mood. Alright?"

"Ah Marco, just messing with ya." Janna scooted away, snickering. "So what's _Fabio_ got cooked up for tonight?"

"We're just going to the library." Marco said. Janna pursed his lips

"The _library?_ "

"What? She's not feeling well. Figured it was something light." He shrugged. He didn't have a whole lot to go on. She liked history books, would give them a good place to hang out and _maybe_ talk. Janna was thoughtful, puzzled even.

"Did Jackie tell you anything else about not feeling well?"

"No…" Marco said but hesitated when he saw her frown deepen. "Why?"

"Don't think it's my place…"

"Janna. What's wrong?" Marco pressed. Okay, now sweat was starting to prick his pits. Janna paused for a moment, considering.

"Okay. Look. You didn't hear this from me…" She leaned in closer. "But it's her _aunt Flo_."

"What's wrong with her aunt?" Marco said, fidgeting. He didn't know Jackie had an aunt Flo.

"She's sick dude."

" _Sick?"_

 _"_ Yeah." Janna nodded.

"Don't tell me it's serious… Right?" Marco said, and felt his blood turn to ice when Janna didn't answer right away.

"I don't know Marco, last I heard Flo was _coughing up blood."_

" _What!"_

 _"_ Yeah. It's pretty bad." Janna said. "Don't tell Jackie I told you this okay?" She stood up. "Going to Principle's Skeeve's office."

"Why?"

"Need some of his hair, or what little he has left." Janna responded, leaving him. He felt his stomach curl into knots. Now why would Jackie not tell him about that? That's pretty serious… Well, they weren't _really_ close or anything yet. It's probably something she didn't want to worry him with. Still though…

Maybe there was something he could do?

* * *

The rest of the school day passed pretty quietly. He noticed that Star never came back from lunch. He worried about that, but the whole thing with Aunt Flo felt a bit more immediate. He ducked out of last period and biked down town, which was about fifteen minutes from school. There was a flower shop that had just absolutely beautiful arrangements focusing on hydrangeas coupled with babies' breath. There were get-well cards on the desk, which he took by impulse, and some candy that just seemed like a good idea. Then he started thinking about the presentation of it and it just spiraled out of control.

It was four o'clock PM, he was standing outside the entrance to Echo Creek's public library, pacing. A wicker gift basket rested at his feet bulging with flowers, cards, chocolates, ribbons, Easter fake green grass filler, a coloring book paired with thin tipped markers, and little balloons. It was too much, but he couldn't help himself.

The sky had the barest tint of orange to it when he saw Jackie pull up to the entrance in a blue SUV. She was wearing a white tank top with her shell necklace and long blue baggy pants. She looked a bit paler than usual, but her smile was just as warm. They waved to each other, but her smile dropped into a quizzical look when she saw the basket.

"Hey Marco…" she walked up to him, "Is that… your basket?"

"H-Hey Jackie… It's um- no- it's not for me. It's for your aunt."

"My aunt?" Jackie asked, puzzled.

"Yeah- yeah. Your aunt Flo?"

"My aunt Flo." She repeated. Marco jerked to life and picked the basket off of the ground. He handed it to her, which she took after a pause. She rummaged through the contents with a blank expression.

"Will she like it?" Marco asked with a stitched on grin. Jackie blinked her mouth slightly open.

"Um. Yes. Thank you Marco…" She said haltingly, a smile spreading across her face. "This is very sweet of you."

"Yeah well, heh, I'm sorry. I hope she feels better soon."

"Me too…" Jackie said with a small laugh. She took a deep breath. "So. Library date huh?"

"Yeah. I know you're not feeling well. I know you like history books so I just kind of figured this was a good idea."

" _Hah._ Alright, come on Marco. Let's go." Jackie took his sweaty hand and led him inside. The interior of the Library was a two story complex with bookcases that went all the way up to the ceiling. In the center of the room were big wooden study tables paired with long narrow tables with dividers that held computers. You could see straight up to the second floor from the center with a staircase leading up further in the back.

The history section was up on the second floor, he knew from his many trips here for school projects and research papers. There were also really neat tucked away spots with cushioned seating away, which he knew about. It didn't take long for them to find a book. Marco chose a book about the Revolutionary War while Jackie had picked out a book covering the Lewis and Clarke Expedition.

Not many people were in the library, which Marco was thankful for, so finding an open cluster of cushioned seat relatively away from people was easy enough. They settled in with their books and the gift basket between them and the largely remained quiet, sitting together. Whatever conversation they had was quick and whispered. At one point Jackie had actually asked if she could have a candy bar. Initially Marco resisted, but it was hard to say no to her so she ended up having one.

They sat until the sun started to set, and that's when Marco brought out his backpack. He had packed up some sandwiches and water for them. Technically you weren't supposed to have food in the library but this was one edge Marco felt was appropriate to live on.

Although, shortly after their food Marco could see Jackie was beginning to fade on him, date was drawing to a close…

"Hey Jackie." Marco spoke up. "Everything alright?"

" _Hmm?_ Oh, yeah Marco." Jackie yawned. "I'm just really tired."

"Ya wanna Call it?"

"Think we could?" Jackie asked, almost sleeping. "It's been really nice Marco but I'm just about ready to fall over."

"Hey, all good." He said. "Let's head out."

"Yeah."

They both put their books down and, again, Jackie took his hand as well as the giftbasket and began to walk to the door. The library was empty and Marco didn't see anyone at the front desk.

"Should do this again sometime." Marco said, if no one was there he didn't feel like he needed to be quiet.

"Totally."

They had reached the front door and Marco looked out, it was dark out at this point. Strange, really didn't feel like all that much time had passed. He reached out to the door, but found it stubborn and pulled hard. Wouldn't budge.

"Uh oh."

"You can't open it?"

"No no, I'm sure I can." Marco placed a foot on wall to brace himself and heaved. The door shuddered but remained closed.

"I think it's locked." Jackie realized.

"What? No way, it's only like eight." Marco said. He brought his phone out of his pocket to check the time. Indeed, it was a quarter past eight.

" _Locked in? Here. Let me try!"_

He felt it more than he saw it. Felt like a hot iron poker grazing past his sleeze and slamming into the door. Ethereal green chains quickly wrapping themselves over the door with a shuddering clack. Jackie gasped and Marco jumped back, whirling around.

There. Standing on a tower of books was Ludo holding his wand out in front of him. " _Aw shucks!"_ He snapped his fingers "Looks like I made things worse!"

"L-Ludo!?" Marco stuttered, heart icing over.

"Surprise! _Miss me?_ " Ludo jumped off his book tower. "Hah! Now who's this! You're not that _stupid_ Butterfly." he cackled bandying his wand at Jackie, which sizzled with green sparks.

"Marco? Who… Who is that?" Jackie pointed.

"I asked you first!"

"Jackie, that is Ludo." Marco hunched down, muscles tensed. "He is _not_ a friend." What in the world was he doing here? On his date of all things!

"Jackie huh? Well shall I say Jackie it's a pleasure for this to be the first and last time I'll ever meet you." He bowed with a grin that looked like hooks were holding it up. Jackie's face went fully white.

"What are you doing here Ludo?" Marco snapped. His eyes flighted up above, to the corners. Ludo was one thing, but he was more worried about the Spider and Bird coming in.

"Well who would you rather be with, a pathetic human or a Mewni Princess!?" Ludo yelled which melted into a hysterical chuckle as he watched Marco look around. " _Ohh,_ you're looking for my girls are you? Well you're in luck! _They aren't here…"_ He broke off into another giggle fit. "Alone! All alone…" He brought up his wand and Marco's eyes narrowed. " _Or am I! HAHA-"_ the wand began to crackle and shine. " _FEARSOME BLACK SPIDER"_ He screeched.

"Jackie, run! Hide!" Marco shouted at her as the wand's green energy start to coalesce around itself. Jackie ran off to the side, shimmying along the wall and disappearing further into the library. Ludo didn't care, totally focused on him.

Marco was ready to jump out of the way, throw a chop, but as the wand released his magic, he was confused when he saw a black and red rubber spider pop out of the wand and squeak onto the floor. For a moment, both Ludo and Marco had a look of utter confusion.

"That… was not what I was expecting."

" _Hiiiiyah!"_ Marco charged at Ludo and shot out a fist catching him right on the beak. He constantly forgot how light Ludo was because he went flying deeper into the library, crashing into a table. Marco ran after him as he struggled to his feet on the table. His wand sparkled like a star.

" _Fah!_ It's going to take more than that!" He brought his wand up again. " _CLAWED FLYING DEATH!"_ He yelled out. The wand sparked intensely, but all that came out was a black kite full of holes that sunk to the floor. He wailed in frustration. "STUPID STUPID STUPID WAND! I GOT YOU YOUR BOOK! WHAT MORE COULD YOU WANT?"

Marco sprinted at him again while he was trying to strangle his wand. Although Ludo looked up just in time. "At least I can still blast you! _Hah!"_ Ludo pointed his wand below him the resulting green blast splintering the table in half as he rocketed up in the air. Marco skidded to a halt and dove to the side splinters embedding themselves in his hoodie.

Thankfully he wasn't hurt, he rose to his feet and looked around. He couldn't see Ludo. Couldn't see Jackie either, but that was probably for the best. " _ELDRITCH TERROR TENTACLES!"_ Marco whipped his head up just in time to see Ludo hanging off the second story balcony pointing his wand straight at him.

Spaghetti flew out of his wand and slammed into Marco knocking him against a bookcase. He saw both stars and Stars. "Well. Close enough I guess!" Ludo jumped down. He landed with a pained whimper but he fought to keep the smile on his face. The wand flared.

Marco struggled, but the sauce had hardened and he found his upper body glued tight to the bookcase he was against. Ludo watched him with a playful sneer. "Hah! Some training dummy _you_ turned out to be." He nickered.

Ludo pointed his wand at him and it started to hum with energy. Marco didn't feel anything. His adrenaline numbed him to anything. He tried to tear himself off until it became clear he wasn't able to get off. He started looking at anything, anywhere.

It was then that his eyes settled on Jackie slowly starting to creep over Ludo, a massive encyclopedia cocked back like a bat. " _Any last words Marco Diaz!?"_ Ludo screamed. Marco's heart leapt into his throat and he choked back a relieved laugh.

"Uh... Batter up?" He's not really good at witty one-liners.

Ludo's eyes narrowed. He began to say something but whatever it was was cut short when Jackie swung the encyclopedia wildly around and caught Ludo square in the side. An audible _thawk_ echoed throughout the room and Ludo found himself doing an impression of a screaming line drive straight into a bookcase, bouncing off of it and squashing unto the floor a pained moan coming out of him when he settled, never letting go of the Wand.

For a moment, Jackie and Marco looked at each other, then at Ludo completely surprised. " _Ahh… Well… That'll do."_ Ludo groaned. He tried getting up, but fell back down. " _Guess I'll just…. Leave…"_ He grunted, bringing out a jagged knife from the cord on his hip helplessly swinging at the air before it found purchase and a portal was rent open. " _See you all… later!"_ He crawled back in the portal, dissipating away shortly afterwards.

The library returned to silence except completely ruined with a cracked table, marinara sauce staining the floor and books littering the floor. Jackie dropped her book, rushing over to where Marco was.

"Marco! Are you alright?" She exclaimed, dropping to her knees and inspecting where he was stuck.

"Fine… I'm fine." Marco breathed. The adrenaline was receding and it was like his body was catching up with all the terror that it didn't feel in the moment. He was glad though… so glad for Jackie. "Nice cut."

"Thanks…" Jackie said, giving a fragile smile.

It was then that they heard something _else._ Like a high-pitched siren that was increasingly becoming louder. Both of them jumped, Jackie throwing herself against Marco when a thunderous explosion banged in the room.

"YEEEEEEEEEEEEEH!" A horse, or rather, a warnicorn bounded into the central room. Star Butterfly was riding on top decked in an iron suit of armor with blue trim and a horned helmet yelping a yodeling war cry. She had her wand crackling menacingly in one hand and holding tight to a one-bladed war axe in the other. The warnicorn cantered around the broken table, Star's war cry dropping in pitch and intensity when it became apparent that there was nothing on going. Her warnicorn slowing down until coming to a complete stop, right in front of Jackie and Marco. "MARCO WHAT HAPPENED!" She yelled dropping down, panicking. "I FELT IT! I FELT MAGIC! _IT WAS WEIRD!_ " She stopped short when she saw Jackie still clutching him.

"Star… Don't yell." Marco said. Jackie let go and backed up a step.

"I AM GOING TO YELL MARCO!" In an instant, Star jumped to him picking at the dried sauce. "HOLD ON!" She dug her fingers behind his shoulders and with a gargantuan heave pried him clear off. Marco winced when he heard the fabric of his hoodie tear. Star picked him up and his hoodie promptly fell away, torn in half.

"Aw man."

"Are you alright?" Jackie asked again resting a hand on his back.

"Yeah… yeah I am, just stained. Heh. Thanks to you- not the stained part, the saving part I mean… Sorry." Marco reassured her. Stung from the splinters, but largely all right. Marco looked to Star to find her shaking.

"Wh- What- What did Jackie do? What happened?" She stammered.

"This guy named Ludo attacked us." Jackie said, "He pinned Marco down, but I was able to sneak up on him and take him out."

"Clocked him with a book, that was amazing." Marco said, replaying it in his mind. She really did do a perfect swing.

"So… Everything is fine? Where's Ludo?" Star asked, clutching tightly to her wand and battleaxe at a loss.

"Ludo got away." Marco said. Star gave a lost chirp, slowly looking over at Jackie.

"And you… _You saved Marco?"_ she hefted her axe at Jackie who took a step back.

"I... guess I did. Yeah." Jackie shrugged.

" _Jackie saved the day."_ Star mumbled, eyes wide.

"Uh Star?" Marco asked when she remained silent for a couple of seconds. She suddenly dropped her axe.

"Sorry bout that." She said. "Did you have a nice time together?"

"We did. For the most part." Marco said quietly. There wasn't one speck of emotion on Star's face.

"Yeah." Jackie said slowly. She saw it to.

"Cool… Hey by the way have you met my warnicorn? His name is Charlie. Say hi Charlie."

"Sup."

"Hey." Marco said and Jackie waved. The four stood there a very uncomfortable silence between them, until Jackie cleared her throat.

"Well… I think it's time to go home. I'm exhausted." She said.

"Agreed." Marco nodded. Glad to get moving.

"Well I'm not tired, but I could sleep." Star said toneless. "Would you like a ride on the warnicorn?"

"That would be pretty rad." Jackie nodded.

"… Sure!" Marco said. He biked here, but with the way Star was he felt that maybe this was more important. He can always come back in the morning and get it.

"Great." Star turned around and picked up her axe. She didn't bother pulling it up so it dragged on the floor leaving a deep slice in the carpet floor. While Star was trying to get on, Jackie's eyes widened.

"Oh, wait, I gotta go get the gift basket."

Star tumbled off the warnicorn.

* * *

The ride was silent. The warnicorn was fast. Seemed like they dropped Jackie off at home in minutes and got back to their house in five minutes more. The warnicorn they were on poofed into dust as soon as they got to the front door. Instead of going through Star rocketed herself up to the roof and went straight into her room.

Marco went straight in, he didn't see his parents but he wasn't exactly looking to talk to them. Instead, he just went to his room falling on his bed. The whole day caught up to him as he lay there and pretty soon he found himself dozing off.

He really wished that could have just been the end of his day, but something slimy and moist prodded him awake, late into the night of the wee hours of the morning.

" _Karate Boy."_ A deep accented baritone voice whispered. Marco opened his eyes.

"Buffrog?" He murmured. He matted his face to his pillow, he didn't want to do anything else.

"Pardon Interruption." He whispered. "I did not see Star in room." Marco matted his face to the pillow. Just what he needed, he sat up.

"It's alright Buffrog. What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Nothing." He was quick to say. "Just. I come with bargain. Meant for Star, but not here." Buffrog rummaged around in his pocket, bringing out a little notebook filled with scrawls. Marco couldn't make heads or tails of it. "Is mewnian." Buffrog clarified.

"What is it?

"Is vital information. Regarding Ludo." He said. "Ludo different now."

"We've noticed." Marco grumbled.

"No. Ludo actually dangerous. Has tunnel network, army, stealing corn-" Buffrog whispered, but broke off suddenly. " _Ach._ Must remember bargain…" Marco felt himself get a little uneasy. He hadn't heard about that. "My bargain, please tell Star."

"I will."

"I give information." Buffrog shook the notebook. "In return, you give me corn. Food. Anything for little children." Buffrog said with a hint of a pleading tone. It didn't sound like this was a bargain to him…

"Uh. Sure Buffrog. I'm sure Star would be happy to accept." Marco said. Buffrog's shoulders sagged.

"Good…Good." He mumbled. "I continue to spy on Ludo. Information for food. Yes?"

"Buffrog we can just give you food." Marco said. This was too much for him.

"I am father." Buffrog pumped a finger in his chest. "Fathers work. For little children… Besides." He paused, looking down. "Star Butterfly different. Hate to see her hurt…"

"Really?"

"Yes." Buffrog slowly nodded. Marco sighed and got out of bed. He had an idea, one that he knew he would appreciate.

"Wait here Buffrog. I am going to get something." Marco left him in his room and tiptoed downstairs to the kitchen. He opened the fridge and pulled out a big blue bowl, bursting with watermelon slices. He smiled.

When he got back, Buffrog's eyes bugged out when he saw what he was carrying.

"That is…?" He pointed but hesitated when Marco offered him a slice.

"We call it watermelon. It's an earth thing. Eat the pink parts, leave the green." He said. Buffrog took it, inspecting it and licking it with his tongue. He went still.

"Is… _sweet…"_ He said haltingly.

"It's mostly water. Its actually very healthy and easy to mash up." Marco explained, but Buffrog was already pinching it in his fingers. "You can take the whole bowl… just bring it back when you're done."

Buffrog gingerly accepted the bowl, his face slowly breaking out into a smile. He hooked an arm around, gently bringing Marco in. He smelled like marsh and salt, kind of gross.

"Thank you _karate boy._ This means the world."

"Don't mention it." Marco said. Buffrog took out his scissors.

"I leave you to sleep."

"Wish I could… Gonna have to find out where Star is."

"Ah. I see. Window was open if that is any help."

"Thank you Buffrog." Marco closed his eyes. He didn't like the implications of that. Buffrog tore a portal open and hopped in, leaving Marco in silence with the notebook on his nightstand. Without missing a beat, Marco walked out of his room and down the hall into Star's room. Indeed, Star's bed was empty and her window was open.

He looked outside, not really expecting to see Star but was surprised when he saw her sitting on the roof curled up in a ball looking off into space. "Star? What are you doing here?"

Star whipped her head up, surprised to see him, but the surprise quickly morphed into apathy. He still saw it plain enough though.

"Oh. Hey Marco. Just thinking." She said. Marco climbed outside to join her, sitting down.

"What are you thinking about at this time of night?"

"Stuff."

"What kind of stuff?"

"Star stuff." She said. Marco didn't say anything and let the silence go between them. "Sorry…" Star spoke eventually.

"Now what are you sorry about?"

"Being a goof today… about friendship Thursday."

"Ah." Marco nodded. "It's all good."

"No its not Marco. I was stupid."

"You're not stupid."

"Oh come on, I really _starred_ things today."

"Well, I'm sorry for not telling you sooner."

"Marco please stop." Star admonished him. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"Well I don't want you to be mad." Marco shook his head. "Although, Star, you do know I'm going to be spending time with Jackie right?"

"Oh I know… yeah…" She twirled her hair. "I'm sorry."

"Told ya, you're fine." Marco waved it off. Star chuckled weakly.

"Really don't feel that way." Star hesitated. "I guess- just- Marco-" She sighed. "I'm not going to lose you am I? We'll still do things right?"

"Of course we will Star." Marco said looking at her. "You're still my best friend. My Friday night is free, lets do a friendship day then-" Marco started to say, but found himself scooped up into a hug.

"Promise?"

"Yes? Of course."

"Good, because Marco I really don't know what I would do otherwise…" Star trailed off, squeezing tighter. He didn't know what to say to that. So, he just returned the hug.

Star may be crushing his mid-section and smelled like salt and soap. But all that stuff just seemed insignificant as of that moment. It really dawned on him just what kind of turmoil that she must have been going through. Star was definitely a girl… but she was also his friend and he wasn't going to let her face this alone.


	4. Why Do I Have This Bunny?

The King of Mewni

It Was Only Supposed to be a Double Date, Why Do I Have this Bunny?

 _"You need more money? Ridiculous."_

 _"Miss Heinous, I'm sorry, but it is a fourth generation magical construct. Prototype design, very… untested."_

Marco had his ear pressed up against Olga's door. He could hear a muffled conversation, and well, the books never forbade eavesdropping. In fact, they encouraged it as long as you were discreet about it.

 _"Surely you can make do with the money I gave you? And 'untested?' Grab my thesaurus and use a proper word."_

 _"You're very kind Miss Heinous, but I do not need-"_

 _"Here. Flip through it."_

 _"… Unpracticed?"_

 _"No."_

 _"Unproven?"_

 _"Something without the U. N. prefix! Such a lazy way to form antonyms!"_

 _"Every word I see has the U.N. prefix."_

 _"Certainly not. Give me that… Ah, here, 'puerile'. Marvelous!"_

 _"Doesn't puerile mean relating to childhood madam? I don't see-"_

 _"Well, it is a magical construct for Marco isn't it? He's a child is he not?" There you are."_

 _"I suppose… Miss Heinous about the Money…"_

 _"Make do with what I gave you, Stein."_

 _"There is nothing to make do with! Pardon my lady, but the construct simply needs more power. I must make a trip to Quest Buy. Please… Miss Heinous, if we don't the construct will fail and if it does we will all but certain have an inter-dimensional incident on our hands…"_

 _"They dare not touch us."_

 _"Most certainly jail my Lady, our reform school finished, my creations… Falling into public domain."_

 _"Imbecile. Why do I keep you? Very well. What do you need?"_

 _"Chargers. About five of them. Triple W."_

 _"Here is… fifteen dollars."_

 _"The chargers cost twenty a piece my lady, and this is without sales tax."_

 _"Absolutely ridiculous! You get twenty-four dollars and no more! Out! Out!"_ Miss Heinous started to shriek and Marco began to hear shuffling steps rapidly approach the door. Marco snapped away from the door and ran down as many steps as possible. When he started to hear the door start to open, he turned around.

The door opened and out walked who must have been Stein, but when he got a good look at him he felt his stomach twist. He didn't even know what was the more horrifying detail. He was a diminutive figure, hunched over a dark cherry wood cane with a silver boot tip wearing an old faded black tuxedo. His head was malformed and lumpy, and his skin was this unnatural deep purple. Where his left eye should have been was a tightly stitched suture starting from the cheek and going all the way up to the crown of his baldhead. His right eye was covered with a bright orange goggle that shown in the oily darkness of Olga's tower. He was muttering something under his breath, what he was saying, Marco could hardly guess.

He hobbled down as Marco walked past him. Stein didn't even so much as acknowledge him. Although Marco got a good whiff of him, smelled like chalky cough drops that were sitting in a glass bowl for too long. He had to suppress the urge to gag. When he passed, Marco ran up the rest of the way and knocked on the door.

"Late! You are late Mr. Diaz! Come in, Come in." Olga harped. Marco opened the door right away to see Miss Heinous standing in the middle room her face pinched in annoyance. "Mr. Diaz I do not want any of your _sass_ today. Boil your water and talk." She commanded in a huffy tone.

"Is everything alright, your grace?"

"None of your concern… Just know that the lady must always keep a tight lid on _finances_. I've got the teapot out. Talk."

* * *

Marco hefted the laundry basket unto his hip. Fridays meant laundry day at the Diaz household and it was his turn. Always his turn ever since Star used fruit punch in place of the detergent and turned his soaks pink. He walked down the hall to Star's door, giving it a knock.

"Laundry, Star." Marco raised his voice. He stood there for a few seconds before the door a smidge, Star's face poking out.

"You're collecting laundry _now_?"

"Laundry collection time is always at Four Thirty PM sharp on Friday, every Friday."

"No it's not?"

" _Ohh_ yes it is." Marco said, putting down the basket. Of course it was. She's been here for how long now? "Go get your laundry." Star hesitated.

"I can't find it."

"What?"

"Can you come back later?"

"Why?"

"I've got to find my clothes." She said. Marco sighed. He hasn't been in Star's room all that much as of late, but if he didn't do it now it wasn't going to get done.

"Alright, coming in Star…"

"You sure? I mean it's pretty bad in here…"

"It's alright. Seen messes before." Marco reassured her. He took a step back as Star opened the door all the way. She was in a dark green dress wearing a spider necklace. She wasn't wearing her boots so she just had on her knee high purple and pink socks. Her outfit was pretty normal, but her room told a different story.

Swords, axes, shoes and socks were haphazardly strewn about the room coupled with odder things like bear traps, cages, multi-colored rocks, plates with nacho cheese and cake frosting clinging to it. It honestly caught Marco off guard just how messy her room was. Aside from a small clear area in front of the door and narrow paths leading to the stairs, bed, and mirror, there wasn't a whole lot of space to walk. "Star. This is… Really bad." He put lightly.

"Yeah. Well - " Star walked down her little path to her bed, not stopping even when her knees connected with the bed frame pitching her face first on the crooked sheets. " _Uhhh… Ya know…"_ She said, muffled by the sheets.

Marco started to pick out her clothes from the mess, but it was tedious working around sharp metal coupled with crumpled bras and bottoms. Star can handle the delicates herself as far as he was concerned. Usually he'd be cross with her about this, because this was seriously on a whole other level for her, but he was giving her a lot of slack ever since the library incident eight days ago. She's been on a low burn ever since.

"Ready for Saturday?" Marco said.

 _"What."_

"Our double date. Did you ask Oskar today?" Marco said, uneasy, that was a bad sign.

" _Ouh… Uh."_ Star sluggishly brought her face up, her mouth hanging open for a second. "I didn't –"

"Didn't ask Oskar. Okay…" Marco sighed. She's had all week to approach him. They planned this last Friday after the whole library debacle. This was the thing that he had planned to _cheer her up._ He even made dinner reservations for four at Star's restaurant choice a full three days in advance and it wasn't _even that kind of a restaurant._ They had gone shopping for new clothes for Star for Saturday. Talking about it was two out of the dozens of conversations they had this week that actually got Star excited. He had handled _blessed everything_ about Saturday.

 _"_ I'm sorry."

"It's fine, you still want to go right?" Marco asked, feeling his tone getting a little terse.

"Oh yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah – _It's just_ – Y'know it's just I'm kind of waiting for the right time to ask him."

"It's Friday evening Star."

"Yeah. _Still not the right time."_ Star challenged. Marco drew in a breath and bit down hard on his retort. He had clumped together a sizable pile of clothes in his arms.

"Well. Let him know. Okay?" Was all that Marco allowed himself to say.

"Roger that."

"Okay… if you want to do anything tonight let me know." Marco said. He rushed out of there and dumped her clothes in his basket. Was probably a good idea to get out of there because if he had stayed he may have gone off on Star and that's the last thing she needed right now.

He picked the basket up and walked downstairs. It's not that he's mad at Star, kind of just mad at himself more than anything. He felt like he was doing something wrong, or rather, maybe he wasn't doing enough… but then, what could he do besides ask Oskar _for Star?_ He couldn't do that, not the right foot to start on with them two. He couldn't even believe Star hadn't asked him, he knew she was scared, but that never stopped her before.

He made it to the laundry room in the basement and set the basket down. He had to be honest; he had this odd mixture of fuming and anxiety going right now. Fuming at the fact that the logistics for tomorrow were all messed up now. Anxious, because Star was cutting it ridiculously close. It was very possible that Oskar was busy tomorrow, or they simply won't be able to find the guy. He lives in his car for goodness sakes. Guess he could try the school but that wasn't exactly a guarantee. Then there was the nightmare scenario of that _he may not be interested…_

Marco paused. That was an odd thought. He never really considered the option of Oskar simply saying no. Why would he? Wasn't much wrong with Star at first glance. In all honesty, Star was kind of a catch thinking about it. Oskar's one lucky dude to have Star wrapped around his finger like that. Hopefully he can see that tomorrow.

"Hey Marco." He heard a voice above him. He looked up to see Star resting on her stomach off the stair railing.

"Oh hey Star." Marco said.

"Can I be a pain?"

"Sure. What's up?"

"Okay. So I'm really really sorry about not asking Oskar." Star spoke so fast that he almost didn't catch that. " _Buut…_ I'm going to do it _real_ early tomorrow."

"Great!" Marco brightened. Thank goodness. Good to hear.

"Do you think you could come with me though? Just… Ya know. Moral support?"

"Absolutely." Marco said immediately. She was there for him with Jackie. He's going to be there for her for Oskar. "What time were you thinking?"

" _Well…"_

* * *

So there was a hill down the street from their house. This hill was a good forty-five degrees and stretched for five houses. Now, normally he can negotiate it well enough by himself. Although its absolutely murder on his legs with Star bouncing up and down on his back pegs.

"Faster Marco!" Star shouted. He answered with a wheeze. They really needed to finish teaching her how to ride a bike. She only knows how to coast and brake at this point. The sun wasn't even up yet, but it was threatening to. She really meant _early_. Which is weird because usually she sleeps like a log. Perhaps it's the nerves… he could relate. They crested the hill to his immense relief. The rest of the way to school was pretty smooth all things considered. "TO THE SCHOOL PARKING LOT!" Star thundered. Next thing he knew, Marco's wheels were not touching the ground and the wind was whipping in his face, flapping his lips back.

The school cropped up on the horizon after only what felt like ten minutes. It constantly left him slack-jawed the extent of what Star could do with that wand of hers. Usually biking to school takes him thirty. They shot past the front entrance to the school and into the side parking lot. Now, on a Saturday morning with the sun not even up, there were absolutely no cars in the parking lot save for two vehicles. One car was an Oldsmobile that looked to be falling apart, duct tape holding down a window and holding up a mirror. The beige paint chipping away and the license plate dented, with ripped smiley face and peace flower stickers ringing the undertow of the vehicle. The back window showed nothing but trash and high headed pea green seats. He had ridden in the car before; he knew that was Oskar Greeson's car to his immense relief, looks like logistics for tonight can be salvaged. He wasn't sure why exactly it was at the School parking lot so early... unfortunately he couldn't think too long about it because the next vehicle just a few rows over made his heart sink.

It was a one-man carriage with slim wiry wheels made from a dark mahogany wood tinged with red. The main compartment sculpted to look like a small castle wall with dull gray paired with deep blood red windows. A five-pointed red star with a pentagram embedded in the center was emblazoned on the door, and a horned skull with vacuous eye sockets crowned the whole carriage. The skeletal remains of a unicorn with a literal fire mane was napping while reigned.

"What's Tom doing here!?"Marco heard Star shout.

"I don't know!" He returned. The bike gave a sudden swing around and they blasted out of the parking lot, back to the front of the school. Star let go of her spell and the bike skidded to a stop, Marco's stomaching slamming against the handlebars. Star hopped off, giving a screech of frustration.

"Marco, is it alright if I blast him back to the underworld? I can do that without getting arrested right?" She turned to him, her wand crackling with electricity.

"Okay no, stop and breathe." Marco grabbed her by her shoulders and gave her a shake. "I don't know why he's here. But we shouldn't let that rattle you."

"Marco I'm going to blast him." She rattled.

"Calm down, no blasting."

"Well then what do you expect me to do? You got a plan? I got a plan. It's called: _The plan where I kick Tom back to the underworld"_ Star grumbled, swinging her wand.

"Give me a minute, okay? We can handle this." Marco said, thinking. Star stood there, foot tapping like a jackrabbit throwing a glare at the rising sun. "Why don't I just talk to Tom while you ask Oskar?" Marco said. It was simple, but it made sense to him. Star shook her head.

"He's a demon Marco. There's not much you can do to stop him."

"I think I should be able to handle him." Marco said. Star didn't look convinced.

"I can handle Tom… No offense Marco, but he could just make you extra crispy. Just let me blast him and be done with it alright?"

"You don't have to blast Tom." Marco reiterated. He didn't want drama this early in the morning. There was always a better way of dealing with things than just getting physical. " _Trust me_. Okay? I keep Tom busy. You go ask Oskar. Alright?" Marco appealed.

"Marco… you know I trust you on a lot of things, but this is kind of a _me_ problem."

"I can handle a _you_ problem. Star. Don't worry." Marco said. Star still looked uncomfortable, absent-mindedly biting her wand, gears turning. She took it out of her mouth and pointed it at him. A tiny cyan beam of light gently hit him in the chest. When it dissipated, a tiny light blue crystal cut like a diamond was resting over his breast, held up by a blue ribbon that was suddenly around his neck. It felt icy to the touch, and quietly hummed.

"If he tries anything. That should help." Star said.

"What is it?"

"Its… uh… I don't really know. I just thought of something cold. Is it cold?"

"Yeah. It's actually freezing."

"Okay good."

Star didn't waste much time, marching down the sidewalk and into the side parking lot. The sun was just peeking up over the horizon at this point and when they got the parking lot Star shot out her hand, stopping Marco. She snapped her head to him, game face on, and began throwing a series of hand signals which included: a one finger spin, a fist, her middle and index finger simulating a walking man, the peace sign, a corkscrew, a parade float wave, energetic spirit fingers and demure jazz hands. All these signs made absolutely no sense; Star was just enamored with the baseball movie they watched last night. Marco started to walk towards the carriage with a blank look on his face. Star waited until he was well over half way there before making a beeline for Oskar's car. Marco hit the carriage before Star could hit Oskar's car. He stopped himself just outside the step and he turned to keep track of Star's movements. She was creeping up fast on Oskar's car, and when she got there she flashed a thumbs up. He turned to Tom's door, waiting. He heard Oskar's car door being opened and closed, which he assume was Star. For a few minutes, nothing happened. It was totally silent except for the sleepy chirps of birds and soft snoring...

Marco blinked. That snoring was unusually loud, like, it sounded like it wasn't coming from inside the carriage. More like _above_. He looked up to see the tip of a beanie poking out from the carriage's roof.

" _Shoot Shoot Shoot!"_ He heard someone growl and the carriage started to lurch which made him snap to the door. It whipped open and Marco got a good look at Ex-boyfriend, prince of demons Tom. He was wearing dark plaid pajama pants ripped at the knees with a big white _love sentence_ shirt that looked to be in perfect condition. Where he got it, Marco had little idea because he sure as heck tried to get it when it sold out three weeks ago everywhere… " _Agh!_ Marco?" He shouted, taking a step back.

"Where did you get that shirt?" Marco asked.

"What – What are you – Nevermind, move!" Tom stammered. He tried to sidestep Marco. However, Marco threw his hand out and slapped it onto the carriage, effectively blocking him. The action obviously surprised Tom who backed off into his carriage, speechless for just a second. "What the heck Marco! I said move! I need to talk to Star."

"Ain't moving Tom." Marco tried to sound as tough as he could.

"Are you serious? Are you being serious right now?" Tom rumbled, his face darkening. The air started to become hot between them. " _Marco I am only going to ask you one more time. Step aside."_ Tom's eyes started to whiten, bright red-ringed light glaring out of them with a snarl on his face.

"Or what? There's nothing you can do Tom." Marco kept himself calm. "You hurt me and say goodbye to Star forever."

" **You."** Tom's voice went through a drastic change, becoming deeper and it sounded like a thousand other voices were whispering underneath. " **Why must you interfere mortal? We shall see you burn for this disrespect."**

"Go ahead." Marco stuck his chin out. "This isn't who you want to be Tom. Why are you here?"

" **Why do you think we are here? We know about the planned Double Date worm. We have come to ask for Star's hand."**

"Star is going with Oskar. How did you find out about the double date?"

" **We care not for the bumbling musician. We care only to show Star our changed selves. You mortals are easily watched and understood. "** Tom twitched with rage, barely keeping a lid on it.

" _Good God._ Keep it down you two." A sleepy voice said. Marco blinked, and Tom's eyes snapped off like a light switch. They looked up and to Marco's surprise, turns out that beanie was Janna, now looking at them annoyed. "Hey."

"Janna?" Marco said, completely at a loss. Tom was flabbergasted.

"Who… What… Get down from my carriage!" Tom sputtered.

" _Nahh,_ I'm good. _"_ Janna rested her chin on his hand. She was barely keeping her eyes open, and with the way she was smiling, Marco wasn't completely sure if it was strictly because she was tired. "Wasn't expecting _you_ to get up so early… wasn't expecting Marco either, but eh." She talked to Tom's face that was still trying to piece together what was happening.

"What are you even doing up there Janna?" Marco was quicker on the uptake. He was used to Janna's antics. She looked longingly at the carriage, a hungry glint to her eye.

"Saw it. Loved it. _Had to have it."_ She rubbed the wood. "This thing appeared last Friday night. _It's wicked."_ She finished. Tom shook his head and let a loose a growl.

"Hey. That's mine. Not yours, understand?" he snipped. "Who even are you? Janna your name? Get down."

"Yeah… well…" Janna started, a grin slowly spreading over her face. "That's… not the only think that's yours if you want… Yes, my name is Janna by the way. I assume Tom is yours? That's a weird name for a demon."

"Janna… just why." Marco threw up his hands. For the life of him he couldn't understand her sense of humor, and Tom, heck he actually felt kind of sorry for him because it was obvious he had absolutely no idea what he was dealing with. He just stared at her rooted to the spot. All the anger he had just moments ago was drained away and now he his mouth hung unhinged. All three eyes had their pupils like slits.

" _Wh-Whoa Whoa whoa!_ " Tom found his voice, but it had a squawk to it. "Okay. No. None of that. No."

"Tom. It's alright, its just what she does. She's just messing with you."

"Marco don't spoil it, _this is fun_." Janna grumbled. Tom looked between them, confused until he clenched his fists, a really low grinding growl coming out.

"Stop. Stop both of you. All I want is to talk to Star."

"Tom. You know you can't just engineer a way to get back together with Star. You need to move on _._ " Marco implored. Tom glared at him. "This double date is to give her a chance for her and Oskar to get to know each other…"

"That's just it though Marco." Tom growled. " _I am not trying to get back together with Star here._ I just wanted to show her that I have changed… I mean… I _graduated_ dude. I can prove it -" Tom reached into his pocket and produced a redpin with the words _Anger Free!_ Printed in big blocky white letters with a happy sun.

"A _double date?_ You're going on a double date?" Janna said in the background. Tom didn't know, but he actually did 'get' it, but even then, he wasn't going to let Tom go. It's not what Star wanted. Star wanted a chance to get to know Oskar and she deserved as much. Definitely deserved not to have this kind of drama.

"Tom, if all you want to do is talk to Star, then why go on a date with her? You can just talk."

"I don't expect you to get it, alright? I just… want this to be a date. It's just something I gotta do - alright? Not explaining myself to you." Tom said, the fight was starting to leak out of him Marco could tell. "Look. Marco. I don't want to do this. Okay? Please just let me through."

"I'm not going to Tom." Marco shook his head. Tom didn't know, but he actually did 'get' it, but even then, he wasn't going to let Tom through. It's not what Star wanted. Star wanted a chance to get to know Oskar and she deserved as much. Definitely deserved not to have this kind of drama.

"You don't know that…" Tom said, but his body language told a different story. A beanie suddenly dropped down, resting lopsided off one of Tom's horns.

"Hey. Still here. What's this about a double date?" Janna jabbed. Tom's face darkened again, and he started to murmur under his breath. Marco got worried for a second, but before Tom could get too bad, he suddenly stopped. Taking a deep breath, Tom let it out in a long sigh with gentle wispy steam creeping out the corners of his mouth.

"Okay." Tom said. He held up an arm and Marco felt a sharp blast of hot air push him back. Before Marco could understand what was going on, Tom had stepped out of his carriage. Flames alighted under his slippers and Tom boosted himself into the air. "You. Off my carriage." He leered at Janna who was just giving him full on bedroom eyes. Tom snapped his fingers, which sounded like a femur cracking, and Janna yelped as flames ignited underneath her, propelling her into the air. Flames caught her at the last minute, gently depositing her to the ground next to Marco.

" _That. Was awesome_." She said, looking at Tom.

"You." Tom came back down, pointing at Marco. "Curse you." He turned and went up the step. "You want me gone? Fine. Whatever. Sure."

"Tom I'm sorry." Marco said.

"Whatever Marco." Tom shot back. He stepped inside his carriage, slamming the door shut. Marco stood there, waiting for the carriage to be engulfed in flames, but after a good ten seconds of nothing Tom wrenched the door open and came out angry. "Okay. Where is the bell?"

"What bell?" Marco asked, a little exasperated. "You didn't come out with any…" He continued and then stopped. This was strangely familiar with him. Marco turned to Janna. She had a poker face on.

"An underworld bell. I had one for Star." Tom said. "It was on a little shelf and now its not there."

"Janna. Give him back the bell." Marco sighed.

"She has my bell?" Tom pointed to Janna.

"Now what makes you think I took whatever it was?" Janna asked.

"You have got to be kidding me Janna. You do this all the time."

"Wait, how did she get the bell? Does she have the bell?"

"I may have it." Janna said casually. "First I wanna hear about this double date." Marco slapped his forehead.

"Look. Janna all we're doing tonight is dinner. Jackie, and me with Star and Oskar. We just wanted to give Star a good setting to get to know Oskar. That's all."

"Really." Janna said in an interesting tone.

"Give me back my bell Hannah."

" _Hmmm…"_ Janna hummed. "Hey Marco, how about we make this... _a triple date?_ Maybe a good setting for _me_ to get to know… _"_ Janna's gaze shifted slowly to Tom. Both Marco and Tom took a few seconds to process what Janna just suggested, when it clicked they both spoke at once.

"Janna… I don't think this is the setting for that."

"You're kidding me. You're weird."

" _Ahh_ come on now." Janna slid up to Tom and hooked an arm around him. "What's the worst that can happen? What were you planning on doing tonight?"

"… I don't need to tell you that. And who said you could touch me?" Tom said, promptly talking Janna's hand off his shoulder.

"Well I don't know Tom. Sounds boring to me whatever it is you got planned." Janna said.

"Janna I am not making this into a triple date." Marco said.

"Yeah – and what makes you think I would go on a date with you?" Tom threw it out there, but if he thought he was going to draw blood with that barb he was sorely mistaken when Janna just snickered.

"Well why not? From what I can see, I'm your one chance at getting close to Star here. You don't need to go on a date with Star to show her how you've changed." Janna said, and at that Tom's face when blank.

"That is… very self-deprecating of you. You need help and I've already told you why, I want this to be a date _with Star_." Tom said.

" _Ehh._ Just negotiating. Of course this isn't about Star, _but me…_ And you know just how stubborn Marco can be, face it. You know you're not going on a date with Star... So why not me instead?" Janna said. "All I'm asking here is one date. Come on. One shot, and you get a chance to show Star how changed you are." Janna pressed. To Marco's surprise, Tom didn't immediately answer that. Looked like he was actually considering it.

"Still not making this a triple date guys." Marco piped up. Without hesitation, Janna reached into the breast pocket of her jacket and dropped a folded up piece of paper, a set of keys, and a wallet… _Marco's_ wallet…

"Make it a triple date and you get all this back, _and_ I'll even pledge not to mess with your stuff for three months." Janna said, but Marco really didn't hear her, he was too busy staring at all these _incredibly personal things about him…_ he almost, _almost_ accepted it right then and there, but he held himself back. He had to remind himself that this wasn't about him. This was about Star and he wasn't about to go throwing a wrench into things.

"I… can't do it Janna." Marco said. At that, Janna frowned. She probably wasn't expecting that.

"Well why not?"

"I told you. This is about Star and Oskar, not me."

"… Fine." Janna scooped up all of his fantastically personal information "But I am a friend of Stars to you know."

"I know that, but it's not you who I don't trust. It's _him."_ Marco jabbed a finger at Tom who looked honestly insulted, but Marco didn't care. "How I can know that this isn't some kind of scheme with you Tom?

"I swear Marco, I'm not trying to 'get' with Star. Not anymore…" Tom held up both hands. "And well… I don't know – Janna, maybe you have a point. Deal."

" _There_ we go. Won't regret it _Horns…"_

"Good for you both. Go on a date by yourselves." Marco said.

"Marco, _come on_." Janna said. "You already are doing this for Star. Why not me to?"

"Because you decided to go on a date with Star's ex-boyfriend."

"Marco, please let us come." Tom pleaded. "What is it going to take for you to trust me here?"

"I dunno Tom. _You tell me…_ " Marco challenged. Janna wasn't wrong. He was prepared to be a bit of a mule here. Tom sucked in a breath, staying silent for a few seconds.

"… Okay. Hang on." He said, disappearing into his carriage. A few moments later, he emerged. Carrying a pink puffball with floppy little ears and sparkly little eyes. He's seen that little buddy before… "This. _Is Marshmallow._ " He held up the little guy. "You remember him, right? My support bunny?"

"Yeah?" Marco said, he wasn't sure where he was going with it. He froze when Tom started to push Marshmallow into his arms.

"Take him, if I act up in _any way_. You don't have to return him."

"Uh –" Marco held up his arms to catch the Marshmallow… He was heavier than he looked. He wasn't expecting this. Marco stared at Marshmallow who wiggled his nose at him with a wink. "Tom I don't think I can-"

"Oh please Marco you adopted a litter of laser puppies at the drop of a hat you can take care of a bunny." Janna blind-sided him. Marco clamped his mouth shut. Janna, frowning, threw Marco's wallet, information, and keys down on the ground again. "It's yours… if you say yes."

" _Sheesh_ you two…" Marco gently shook his head. Okay. This was getting a bit too much for him. "Tom, are you sure about this?"

"Yes."

"Janna?" Marco asked. Janna nodded. Marco switched between looking at Marshmallow, Tom, Janna, and his stuff. He felt a little overwhelmed if he were being completely honest. Tom was kind of a drama-queen, he knew because it took one to know one, but he's never seen Janna press so hard for something.

Was Janna nervous? She did a good job in hiding it most of the time, but there were certain times when he could tell she cared, now being one of those times… and, well, he did consider her a friend.

"You both really want this that bad?" Marco asked again.

"Marco. When you see something you want, you take it… and I could use some help…" Janna mumbled.

"I just want to show Star I've changed." Tom said, giving a sidelong look at Janna. "Not sure about this one though."

Marco pinched the bridge of his nose. This wasn't fair, he's perfectly fine with acting like a mule, but he never liked _feeling_ like a mule.

" _Fine…_ You two can come." Marco broke. He just couldn't do it anymore. He'll have to adjust the reservations, but the restaurant was pretty casual so that shouldn't be a problem. Jackie had to be informed, but Janna was her best friend so he didn't think that would be too much of a problem. Star? He wasn't sure how Star would take it, but… well, maybe Star would enjoy having a bunny in case Tom decided to be a jerk.

" _Alright."_ Janna mumbled a cheer. Tom broke out into a huge smile of canines.

"Thank you Marco. I swear. Star will have a great time." Tom said

"Hey. Maybe you should swear that I have a great time." Janna said.

"Yeah, remember Tom you're going on a date with _Janna._ " Marco stressed. Tom had no idea just what that meant… but Marco had an idea, bless his demonic heart.

"Oh I know. I know. Yeah, guess I'm going on a date with you?" Tom bobbed his head, turning to Janna. "I… must say Janna, you talk a big game."

"That ain't all I got _Horns_ … Janna grinned back at him, pulling a lovely black rose out of her other pocket that smelled like wood rot. She handed it to Tom, who took it eyes wide.

"This is a… _plague rose -_ Wait this is my plague rose. _"_

"Yep." Janna deftly picked up her beanie and threw it back on her head, fixing it up and tucking her hair in. "Yes, you locked the door, and yes it didn't help." She started to walk off. "Marco when is the date?"

"Tonight at six-thirty. The restaurant is _The Salty Barnacle."_ Marco said. Janna stopped and turned back, a perplexed look on her face.

"Why that place?"

"Star picked it."

"Ah. Got it." Janna turned back around and continued walking. "See you tonight _Horns._ Wear something nice, okay?" She called out. Eventually, she got far enough away to disappear down the road and Tom and Marco were left standing there, in silence for a good minute.

"So, ah, I guess I'll see you tonight?" Tom spoke up, a little excited. Marco gave him a leer, clutching all his stuff and Marshmallow. "Please take good care of Marshmallow…"

"I will." Marco said. Tom reached out, mussing up Marshmallows hair, before walking back into his carriage. This time, the flames engulfed the carriage quickly and it disappeared into the ground, back to the underworld.

Marco stood there, holding all his stuff. He only got three seconds of silence before an explosion went off behind him, scaring him. He turned around to see the top of Oskar's car blown off by a pink glittery explosion. Star Butterfly crashing into the ground right in front of him, positively glowing.

"MARCO HE SAID YES! HE SAID YES! YES YES YES YES YES!" Star was upon him, mushing his face and bouncing up and down. Without really realizing it, Marco found that Star had scooped Marshmallow out of his hands and was currently jumping and twirling around with it. "He said _yessss_! He said _yesssss!..."_

She jumped up and down a few times, until she actually looked at who she was bouncing with. She stopped, mid-bounce, and hung suspended in the air. Completely puzzled. "Wait. Why am I holding Tom's bunny?"

"Uhhh… Tom gave it to me."

"Why?"

"Janna and Tom are going on our date with us."

"That's nice Marco, but why am I holding Tom's bunny?" She said. Marco blinked.

"Um. It's complicated… Let's get home first please."

* * *

"Wait you're not mad?"

"Oh Marco. I can handle Tom. _This one?_ "

"Yeah… but he's kind of your ex-boyfriend. No not that one, too many pony tails."

"So? I'm over him Marco. Besides, Tom and Janna? _So cute._ How about this one?"

"Well I know… Honestly I was expecting you to be miffed. Too many buns now."

"Why would you accept if you thought I was going to get mad? Not mad though, just so we're clear. How about this?

"Star that's not how you use the bobby pins. It was just too much. Tom gave me his bunny… and Janna _never_ returns anything she borrows from me. I just thought you'd be miffed because you can't stand him."

"It's not that I can't stand him. I just don't see him in that way, and this is totally how you use bobby pins on mewni. Besides, it's not like it's just him. I'll be surrounding with my best buds… and _Ossskarrrrr…._ "

"You aren't on Mewni Star, the bobby pins go in your hair, not your teeth."

Marco tried to wrestle the bobby pin that Star held in her teeth, but without warning Star started to growl and Marco found himself having to fight with her to get it out. They were in their connecting bathroom and Marco was leaning against the wall while Star kicked her feet on the counter casting spells on her hair trying to find the perfect style. Marshmallow was sitting in the sink, covered in ribbons and lipstick.

"Okay Okay fine. How about _this."_ Star tapped the wand to her head and once the flare of magic was over Marco saw that her hair was elaborately braided and worked so that her hair only came to the tops of her shoulders.

"Well that's a new one." Marco said. Never seen that one before. She actually did a good job hiding a lot of her hair. "Looks fantastic."

" _Thaanks._ So this is the one?"

"I'd say so. Go for it."

"Awesome _possum._ I am _READY!"_ Star shouted.

" _Annd_ it's only eight o clock in the morning…" Marco said. Star stood frozen. "The date isn't until six thirty. We have time."

"Do you think I could try speeding up time?"

"After what happened with freezing it? Don't."

"Aww fine." Star plopped down on the tile. "Guess I'll just wait here."

"I'm sure we can do something." Marco sat down with her. A moment of silence passed between them. The only sound Marco could hear was the rapid breathing from Marshmallow and the _plip_ his eyelids made when he blinked.

"… Well, actually Marco I do have one thing."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah… just like – How do you think I should present myself, y'know?"

"Present yourself?" Marco repeated. "You're asking me?"

"Yeah. What? You've got Jackie Marco, you obviously know how to do it." Star said.

"Oh. Well…" Marco paused. "I guess I just thought to just lay myself out. Be honest and hope for the best."

"That's all?"

"That's all."

"Hm. Sounds easy enough. _I can be honest with myself."_ Star nodded. They fell back into silence before Star started to fidget. "What time is it now?"

"It's… eight o Five." Marco checked his phone.

" _Auuuuuuugh… Marco I'm going to die."_

"No you're not."

* * *

But she did die. She died multiple times around the house. She died on the couch. She died on her bed. She died in the garage. She died on the car. She died on the roof. She died in the shower, in her closet, on the couch again, she died in the yard. She died halfway through a game of fetch with puppy Sai-Jak. She died in her closet. She died in the hall. She died all the way up to six o clock PM.

Marco caught up on his chores; day went by pretty fast actually.

"Come on Star. We should get going!" Marco was standing outside, his bike was all ready to go, and the _Salty Barnacle_ was at least a twenty minutes ride.

" _Coming!"_ Star sang, bursting past him in a sunny yellow dress with blue and white socks. Her mid-section was a band of yellow. She had loved it when they went shopping. Made her look like the sun she thought, although when Marco pointed out that the sun was a _Star,_ she didn't get it. "Let's go Let's go Lets go!" She yelled, already on the bike.

Marco got on the seat and kicked off, and stopped after two seconds, anticipating Star's impatience. She didn't disappoint " _BUNNY BLAST!"_ She yelled, and they zipped off.

The choice of restaurant was interesting to say the least. It was nestled between the _Better Store_ and the strip mall where his dojo was in the downtown area. Looked rather tacky in Marco's opinion, but Star insisted on it. It was pirate themed and seafood. Hopefully everyone has a good time. That's all he wanted. Star deserved to have at least one happy night this week.

They got there in record time, three minutes. They were so early that they were the first ones there. Marco veered off the road and unto the sidewalk, seeing a bicycle post where he could lock up. As he slowed down, Star hopped off.

"Looks like Tom beat us here." She remarked.

"What?" Marco said, kneeling down to lock his bike. When he stood up though he saw that Star was right. Tom's carriage was pretty hard to miss, not to mention the magma and lava he churned up. He also was parked in the handicap spot the fiend. "Huh. Guess your right. I don't see him though." Marco said, looking at the entrance to the _Salty Barnacle._

"Wanna go see what Tom's up to?"

"Ew – no. Although you can go."

"Alright. Think I will."

Marco walked towards Tom's carriage with Star walking towards the restaurant. As he approached, the carriage door swung open and what came out made Marco come up short. Tom was in a full white suit and pants with a purple thorny rose on the lapel and white shoes. He looked like he was going to wedding, not a casual group outing, between Star's sunny dress and now this Marco felt underdressed in his red hoodie.

"Hey man." Tom greeted him quietly. He was focusing on him though, he was looking somewhere off behind Marco. Probably Star.

"Tom, you look… sharp."

"Yeah." Tom said. "Just making a good impression is all."

"For Janna right?" Marco needled him. Tom shot in a suffering glance.

"Her to."

Both Tom and Marco cringed as a heavy keyboard solo filled the air. An beat up Oldsmobile pulling into the parking lot. Oskar stepped out in tore up cargo shorts, a green bandana, and wrinkled brown shirt.

" _Hey little dude!"_ He shouted at Marco with a big grin, although his grin lessened when he saw Tom. " _Hey…_ Uh – _purple dude!"_ Oskar shot Tom a finger gun and a grin.

"I assume that's Oskar?" Tom deadpanned to Marco.

"Yep."

"Can't believe this."

"Stop it."

Oskar walked over to them, head-banging. "So what's up? _What's up?"_

 _"_ Hey Oskar. How you doing? This is Tom, he's joining us." Marco took the lead. Tom had a tight frown on his face and his third eye was shooting Oskar a glare.

"Good to meet you." Tom simply said, stiffly shooting out his arm. Oskar didn't seem to notice, loosely taking the hand pulling Tom in.

"Sup, your horns are _sick_ dude. Love the white suit man!" Oskar said.

"Thank you." Tom returned. Marco could tell he was tense.

"Alright, lets start walking to the entrance." Marco corralled them. He looked over to the entrance where Star was waiting. She was 'leaning' up against a light post with this really aloof expression on her face, but it was kind of ruined by the fact she was too far away from the light post to get a reasonable lean. It wasn't so much a lean, looked more like her entire body was diagonal.

However, he wasn't sure if he was going to do much better when he saw that Jackie was with Star. She was looking over at them with a coy smile aimed at him and that just turned his knees to noodles.

"Well Hey hey ladies." Tom said in a light tone when they got close enough.

"H-Hey Jackie." Marco stammered. He still got a little tongue-tied with her. Jackie stepped over and gave him a warm hug.

"Hey you." She said. Marco took a moment negotiating his hands before returning the hug. When they pulled away, Jackie eyed Tom. "Hey, I think I remember you."

" _Hey Star."_ Oskar waved. Star cocked her head so that she could give Oskar a glance.

" _Oh. Hey Oskar."_ She played it off. "Didn't see you there."

"You did? Aw man. What you doing?"

"Acting casual – " Star began but blinked and whipped her body back up straight clutching her hands together. "" – Uh, actually nothing. I mean, I'm doing nothing. Nothing at all. Just standing here thinking about life y'know? You ever wonder why clouds are white Oskar? _Do you?"_

"Aw man – All the time!" Oskar said, feeling it. "It's like – _why_ , you know?"

" _Yeah."_ Star murmured. " _You get it… Okay now I'm actually kind of curious why…"_ Star bounced herself back up straight and fished out her wand from her smiling star purse. "Summoning Cloudy Charm." She intoned. Her wand flared to life and a puffy pink cloud materialized, hovering in the middle of the group.

" _Hahahahaha…_ Hello!" Cloudy puffed, he slowly spun " _Whoaa_ who are you all?"

"Ah hey! Talking cloud dude!" Oskar said. Jackie stifled a laugh and Marco couldn't help but smile. Tom looked on, neutral.

"Hey Cloudy. Quick question for you." Star spun him back around to her. "Why are clouds white?"

"I dunno. I'm pink."

"Aww." Star groaned. Cloudy spun around until stopping looking out down the sidewalk.

" _Whoaa._ Whose that red hot chili pepper?" He asked. As one, the whole group turned to where Cloudy was looking and all at once, the whole group's mouths dropped.

It was Janna sashaying towards them in a long red dress and black high heels. Gone was her beanie with her hair shining, blow-dried and straightened and gently curled on the ends. Her cheeks were rosy red and her lashes boldly flared, a smooth smile adorning her face. It's like she was trying to light the ground she walked on _on fire._

" _Hey."_ Janna said.

" _Dang Janna."_ Jackie was the first to speak. " _You go girl."_

"Whoa." Star said. Marco snapped his eyes over to Tom. His pupils were pinpricks.

"Hey _Horns._ Good to see you took my advice." Janna walked up to Tom, standing just a little too close.

"Huh. Okay, I admit I wasn't expecting this." Tom said.

"Hey. I told you, it's one shot. Might as well go all out." Janna shrugged. "So. We're all here? … What is _that?"_ Janna asked, looking at Cloudy.

"You're sizzling!" Cloudy was happy to say.

"I know that." Janna said.

"Oh. Cloudy." Star spoke up, raising her wand. "It's time for us to go on our date. Say goodbye to everyone!"

"A date? You're on a date?" Cloudy said as Star's wand started to light up.

"Yes. With Oskar Greeson." Star said, Cloud sat there smiling for a second, Star's wand flaring.

"Huh! _That's five dollars I'm not getting back! – AHHHHH-GUH!"_ Cloudy's mortifying scream melted away as the spell hit him, dismissing him.

A beat of silence passed.

"Okay." Marco clapped. "Everyone it is now six twenty five. I say its time we all _go."_ He led the way with Jackie and they began to filter into the restaurant.

* * *

A bored wiry framed usher with an eye-patch and bandana led them all to their table over his head. It kind of bothered Marco just how little effort he put into it. A stout hairy woman in a flamboyant hat and striped shirt took their drink orders. Pretty soon, the group had settled in. The place stunk of fish and it was dimly lit with center candles flickering. Kind of a sleepy atmosphere and despite a few spoken words here and there, conversation wasn't all that plentiful. It gave Marco time to gather his thoughts, take stock in how things were going. He wanted to make sure it all went smoothly.

He looked at everyone. Jackie caught his eye and smiled. Oskar seemed to be staring at the wood of the table, but it was hard to tell with his covering the top half of his face. Star had her lips puckered, hands resting in her lap and legs together looking straight ahead, her face was gleaming from sweat Marco could see. Tom was trying to keep it subtle, but Marco could see him shooting side-glances at Star periodically. There was no subtlety from Janna. She was just ogling Tom.

" _Aye._ So let me tell you lubbers how we do it here." Their waiter, the stout hairy women stomped up to them. "We will come around, fish on swords. We have over ten different types of fish from Tuna to Squid. You tell us what ya want. We pile it on until you say stop. That's all." She said. "Are we doing separate checks or…?"

"I'll be paying tonight _._ Single check." Marco said while pointing at Marco. Yes. Marco did agree to pay tonight. He wasn't expecting two extra people and for this restaurant to be twenty-two dollars per person though… This better be amazing fish.

"Enjoy." She stomped away.

They settled back into a silence, but Marco was fidgeting now. He didn't like this silence. He wanted to get them talking. Trying to be discreet, Marco rolled up his sleeves where he had penned some plans in blue pen on his arm. Jackie looked over at him, choking back a laugh, but nodding in encouragement. Marco returned the smile and checked what he got… the _round-robin_ idea sounded good...

"Hey everyone, I got a game for us all to play." Marco spoke up, everyone facing him. "It's pretty simple. Each of us comes up with a question and we go around to answer it."

"Sounds stupid" Tom said.

" _Eh,_ Marco's just trying to get us to talk… honestly I'm fine just looking at ya." Janna said on his heels. Tom shot her a blank look.

"Tone it down." He said.

"No."

"I like it. Let's do it." Star said.

"Sounds dope." Oskar agreed. Marco flicked his eyes over to Jackie who nodded quickly.

"Alright. How about Jackie starts. Jackie?" Marco turned it over to her.

"Alright sweet." Jackie considered for a moment. "Something easy, how about… favorite music? We'll go around." Jackie nodded to Star.

"Oh that's easy. I always liked classical music or anything with a kazoo." Star said.

"Classic Rock." Oskar said without even thinking. Tom was next and everyone looked at him. He had his elbows rested on the table, hands covering his mouth looking pensive.

" _Death Metal."_ He said. Marco rolled his eyes. What a liar.

"Favorite band?" Janna asked. Tom's eyes widened and Marco had to stifle a giggle.

"I - I don't have one I just like any Death Metal."

"Oh. Kay." Janna quipped. "It's just that, Death Metal's my favorite music. The band _Death_ should be the faces of Mt. Rushmore in my opinion. Honorable mentions going to _Deicide_ and _Cannibal's Corpse._ You like _Slayer_?"

"Of course I do. Why wouldn't I?"

"Favorite _Slayer_ song?"

" _Gruesome Blood."_ Tom said. Janna stared at him for a good five seconds.

"Kay. Marco goes." She said finally, ignoring Tom.

" _Love Sentence."_ Marco said and he was darn proud of it.

"Nice. _Love Sentence_ is my favorite as well." Jackie squeezed his arm.

"… Really?" Marco almost squealed.

"Yeah dude. I die when I hear _prisoners of love."_

 _"_ I know!" Marco said. This was too perfect.

"My Turn!" Star said quickly, hitting the table and immediately leaned back in her chair, pondering. "Favorite… Food!"

" _Hot Diggidy_ _DAWGS!"_ Oskar declared.

"Filet Mignon, cooked blue." Tom said.

"What's blue?" Janna asked.

"Barely cooked. Bloody."

" _Nice."_ Janna mumbled. "I like calamari. Which is _squid."_

" _Eugh_." Tom mushed.

"Don't knock it till you try it _horns."_

"Nachos and _Tres Leches_ cake." Marco said. He did have a bit of a sweet tooth.

"I like lobster." Jackie said.

" _Sugarittos!"_ Star finished, Marco blanched. Such heresy.

"What's that?" Tom asked.

"Don't even try it." Marco warned. "She puts sugar on her burritos."

A collective shudder ran through the group. Or at least, Marco would like to think that's what happened. Servers began to appear at their table. Each of held spits sculpted to look like curved swords. Filets skewered on them.

"First round tonight is Tuna and salmon." They informed them. Marco wasn't too big on fish, so he loaded up on the Salmon, which was pretty easy to eat. When he began to eat he was pleasantly surprised. The salmon was excellently seared with a zest of lemon and peppercorn. One for one.

"Alright Oskar. You're up." Marco said over the clinking of their silverware. He was beginning to relax. Good food, good plan, good conversation.

"Oh Totally." Oskar had a modest amount of Tuna. "How's about… Ah man, I got one, if you were on a desert island. Pick one thing."

"… Marshmallow." Tom said after a moment. Marco caught his eye and he nodded.

"I'd say my phone." Janna said.

"I guess I would have to go with my hoodie." Marco said.

"Skateboard." Jackie said.

" _Hah_ called it." Janna mumbled.

All eyes turned to Star. She didn't immediately answer which caught Marco by surprise. He was calling it, her wand.

"I… pick…. Hmmm…" Star said slowly. " _A Friend_."

"Aww that's sweet." Jackie said.

"Totally awesome." Oskar agreed.

Marco's eyebrows shot up for a second. Huh, guess he was wrong. "Can't live without my keyboard!" Oskar finished.

"Alright. I got one for you all." Tom began. "Perfect _date_. Go."

"Wherever you are _horns_." Janna snickered.

"Yeah. That pet name isn't going to catch on."

"Watch me."

Marco thought about it for a little bit.

"I'd say dinner, movie, and falling asleep on the couch." He said. He hasn't been on too many.

"I'd go with anything _outdoors._ Like hiking... or yes, skateboarding." Jackie said. Marco filed that away. Star rubbed her chin.

"This is tough… but I think I'd have to go with… _Warnicorn jousting!"_ Star shouted. "So much fun."

"Hey maybe I could take you for that sometime." Tom said with a chuckle that swiftly died when Star gave him a withering look. "… Ahh never mind."

"Always wanted to do a _Cross Country Road trip!"_ Oskar said.

" _Ohh._ Wait Oskar." Star said. "Is your car alright?"

"Top still blown off."

"… I'm sorry."

"Aw, all good! Always wanted a convertible!"

"Well. _My perfect date_ would simply be dinner and dancing." Tom finished.

The servers came around again breaking them from their game, a plethora of new fish.

"Trout, Ocean Perch, and _fried squid_ Mateys."

" _Yessss… give me all the squid."_ Janna waved it over and loaded up.

"Looks disgusting." Tom blanched. Janna responded by dumping a few pieces on his plate.

"Have some. Eat." She insisted.

"No way."

"I'll give you back your bell."

"So you did take my bell!"

"Yeah. So unless you want me dropping in, _eat."_

Tom looked down at the calamari, blanching. He picked up one and took a tiny bite, chewing slowly. His face began to relax as he chewed.

"Actually is kind of crunchy."

"I know right?"

"Hm." Tom grunted, taking another bigger bite to Janna's pleasure who gave him one more piece.

Marco had the ocean perch. To his delight it tasted mild, yet sweet. Accented by an almond honey marinade. Not a bad bite yet.

" _Alright…_ my turn." Janna said, taking a second. She had a catty little grin on her face. " _Favorite Body Part."_

"Are you _really_ just like this?" Tom sighed.

"For once, I agree with Tom." Marco said. Oskar remained silent, although he wasn't smiling.

"Ah come on. _Answer the question Horns._ " Janna said, still smiling.

"Well. Marco goes first." Tom said.

"Gee Thanks…" Marco grumbled. "Alright… so favorite body part huh?" Marco mused. If he were being totally honest here, it would be legs. He hasn't really had a whole lot of time to consider this stuff. Hadn't really considered this stuff until recently really… perhaps this one time he didn't have to be _completely_ honest. "I'd say hair." He offered.

"Anything wrong with mine?" Jackie asked, ribbing him.

"No. It's perfect. _Your perfect_ … _heh."_ Marco said, but honestly the second half of his comment just sounded so cringing to him.

"Heh, alright." Jackie nodded. "Now I _love_ cheeks." She took two fingers and poked her cheeks and pursed her lips. That got a chuckle at the table. Star looked at them, expressionless. She held up her hands, wiggling her fingers.

"Hands!"

"Going to roll with _eyes."_ Oskar said. Marco almost slapped his forehead. Now that was a good one. Jackie had the most amazing shimmering eyes.

Tom didn't answer right away, regarding Janna who was ogling him again.

" _Seeing anything ya like Horns?"_

"I like a person's… _arms."_ He said.

"Liar." Janna accused.

"Hey. Not my fault you have chicken wings."

"Do not." Janna glared at him, now it was Tom's turn to shoot her baby doll eyes.

" _Totally Honest."_

"Whatever." Janna mumbled. "I like _chests."_ She finished with the spiciest answer, which didn't surprise Marco.

Marco sighed and sat up. So, they made it all the way through. His turn. He actually did have a question in mind, a bit more thoughtful than anything else. He always like hearing multiple opinions.

" _What are your plans for the future?"_ He asked the table.

"Easy." Jackie said. "I want to backpack through Europe one day."

Star looked subdued.

"Well… I guess I'm going to be queen one day." She said slowly.

"Whoa. You're royalty?" Oskar mumbled.

"Yeah… sorry for not telling you but I am a princess."

"No, all good, all good. Sounds _rad_ " Oskar waved. "I wanna start a band."

"I can relate to that." Tom spoke to Star. "I'm going to be king."

 _"Whoa. You're a prince?"_ Janna murmured.

"Yep. Prince of the underworld." Tom confirmed. Janna whistled.

"Guess that makes me the queen." She said, Tom's face dropped.

" _Whoa Whoa Whoa."_ He started and Janna softly cackled.

"Just messing with ya Tom." She said.

"I really don't get your sense of humor Janna."

"Don't have to, as long as I laugh, I'm good." Janna said.

All eyes rested on Marco, but he laughed and chuckled

"Sorry. I actually don't know." He shrugged.

" _Boooo."_ Tom said.

"Lame." Janna agreed.

"Oh stop Janna." Jackie admonished. "We're only fourteen. We have plenty of time to figure things out. Maybe you'd even like to come with me to Europe…" She offered, her face flushing just a little bit.

Marco felt some heat at the suggestion. Now _that_ would certainly be something, wouldn't it?

"What's Europe?" Star asked very quietly.

"Another continent, like across the world." Marco said. She kind of looked withdrawn in herself.

"That sounds fun." She simply said.

The servers came around again. This time the fillets just had the barest hint of a translucent turquoise to it.

" _Cap'n Special tonight."_ He bristled with a guttural accent. " _Wild Greenling_ We insist ye'all take some."

The server plopped the filet on Marco's plate without asking and put it on everyone elses. It smelled almost minty and the color was something he's never really seen before. Marco looked around at the others who were eyeing the fish. Janna shrugged and flaked off a bit, eating it. A grimace passing over her face.

"It's _delicious."_ She held a hand over her mouth. "You all should try it… do it – _suffer with me_."

That got a round of chuckles and Oskar, Star, and Janna each tried a little bit, a chorus of disgust coming from them. Tom was next, popping into his mouth for a second before his eyes bugged out like shattering glass. He covered his mouth with his napkin and spat it out.

"I don't _do_ peppermint." He said.

"Should I even try it?" Marco asked.

"Oh I gotta see this." Jackie laughed. "This is going to be _adorable."_

Marco looked down at his fillet. Well. Now he's got to do it. He chopped off a bit and let it sit on his tongue and immediately opened his mouth and dropped the piece out to the grossed out cheers of everyone. Tom was right. The consistency was like mush and he had no idea what kind of oil or sauce they did with it, but it was unbearably minty, like peppermint oil. His tongue felt coated with a bitter, metallic aftertaste. He gobbled his mouth a few times, smacking his lips. Janna snorted, her head bobbing suddenly.

" _Hah… Nice… Marco your - "_ Janna's eyes were barely open.

"Janna?" Marco asked, feeling a jolt hit his legs. That wasn't right. Janna didn't look good. She looked pale.

"Janna are you okay?" Jackie spoke in a hushed tone. Marco looked to Jackie, scared to see her start to sag in her seat. Tom held her up, concern etching on his face, which looked a shade of purple too light.

" _He's just so…"_ Janna tried to find the words, and failed. Marco smacked his lips again. That metallic taste wasn't going away… in fact to his horror he found that he couldn't feel his tongue anymore. " _Jus so…."_

Star face planted into the table, but the resulting smash sounded like it was coming from underwater all of a sudden. His whole head felt numb and heavy. Oskar was totally sagged in his seat and Jackie had her head cradled in her arms. " _He's jus so freakin cute Tom…"_ Janna finished with a gargantuan effort before pitching forward into the table, snoring. Tom had hit the table long ago.

Marco felt himself start to sink, his vision starting to darken. Terror, horror, fear, all of it was ringing alarm bells in his head, but it all felt like it was coming from a million miles away. He heard voice in a particularly convincing pirate accent behind him.

 _"Nighty Night… Blood Luvers."_


	5. The Blood Lovers

The King of Mewni

Chapter Five: Okay, This really was only supposed to be a double date…

* * *

Marco drummed his fingers on the stove's corner, watching the black tea leaves steep in the nearly boiling water. He'd finally figured out how to consistently heat a teapot to even Olga's standards and had moved onto actually _making_ tea. She had started him off black tea blend, and the steep time was to be exactly three minutes and twenty-seven seconds on the dot. It was straightforward, easy stuff.

However, that wasn't the problem he was having. He hated this. He whole tea thing was boring. Olga has been going _on_ and _on_ about nothing but tealeaves, proper water temperature, complementing blends and more as he told his stories and he it was around his fifteen boiling water attempt where it was like a voice suddenly going off in his head, angrily pushing the idea of stitching Olga's mouth shut. Which took him aback. It was just so _visceral_ and it took way more effort than he should of to talk it down. He understood that tea was subtle and he could appreciate the talent it went into it and many of his instincts told him as such. Yet, even with all the waxing and arguments he made. The voice bluntly pointed out to him that all he was doing was boiling _stupid_ water _and he was so much better than that._

"Mr. Diaz, may I ask you something?" Olga said, breaking the silence. She was seated in her chair with a blue gift box on her lap, which she was sifting through when Marco came in.

"Sure."

"Do you have any relation to _Princess Diaz_ by chance?" She asked. It took a few seconds to register with Marco just what she asked, but when it did, He blinked and found himself losing his steep time.

"Are you being serious?" He asked. He had to make sure.

"I am being entirely serious. I do not _joke_ Mr. Diaz." Olga snipped.

"Uh… _I am Princess Diaz."_ Marco said slowly, his eyebrows rose. He heard a short gasp from Olga and she shifted her body so that she was gaping at him, eyes wide and her mouth hung like an upside down crescent.

" _You?_ " She mouthed. Marco nodded once. "Why you look nothing alike!" She exclaimed, hurriedly bringing up a white card and snapping in between it and Marco. Marco puffed out some air.

"Again. Are you being serious?" Marco said. He looked back at his teapot and took it off the stove. It was probably messed up by now but his tea kind of paled in comparison with what was happening now. Olga's chair creaked as she whipped up and rushed over. She was clutching the card in her hand and when she got to within two steps of Marco she brought it up, squinting at it and then bringing it down again to look at him. It happened a couple of times and eventually Marco just shrugged at her stare.

" _This cannot be…"_ She breathed. "No…"

"What is that? Let me see." Marco reached out and plucked the card out of Olga's fingers. She offered no resistance. He flipped it over. It was a photo, actually. Marco was in the center of the shoot with his fist raised, mid charge yelling. Star was wearing her eye patch and rebel-princess clothes directly on his right. There were a gaggle of princesses in torn pink dresses and high heels behind him. "Yeah. This is me." Marco hit the paper with his hand. "That's Star, in the eye-patch."

"Now you must be joking. Stop it." Olga snatched the picture away.

"It's literally just an eye-patch and a weave." Marco said.

"But… you don't understand. _I sent an assassin after these two."_

"Yeah. You sent Rasticore after us." Marco said and Olga brought a gloved hand over her mouth, her face wilting in horror. "Are you telling me that you had no idea?"

"Of course! I would never _literally_ kill my niece! Merely in every other way!" Olga clacked back to her chair and threw the picture in the box and tried to put the cover back on, failing a few times. Marco wasn't sure if he should laugh or gulp. She was actually serious. She sat back down, staring at a spot on the floor. "I guess it's good that Rasticore failed then… Goodness Moon would have my head." She said after a painful pause.

"You mind telling me what you meant by that last part?" Marco asked. Olga shuffled to look at him.

"Well surely you must have figured it out by now?" She said. Marco shrugged and she _tutted_. "Every Butterfly goes through _conditioning._ It is mere tradition ever since _Eclipsa."_ Olga spat out the last word, obvious in her disgust. Marco took a second to digest what she just said. He was aware that Star's family was big on manners, but he didn't think they were _that_ big on it… He did know about Eclipsa though. Star had told him about her when he had recovered from the swirling abyss of power-lust he was in from reading her chapter.

"Are you telling me that all… this –" Marco gestured at the room, stove, teapot and all. "- Is _intentional_? You're not just a stick in the mud?"

"Watch your tongue." Olga grouched. "I do not expect you to understand Mr. Diaz, but I cannot even begin to describe the _stain_ Eclipsa wrought on our line. Irrevocable! Bedding a _monster_ of all things…" She ranted. "It is a mercy that our line didn't end right then and there!" Olga articulated with hitting a fist on the arm of her chair, her face dark. "Frankly it's obvious we don't _deserve_ to make decisions for ourselves if we're going to be so…. So… _ghastly_ with them! We shouldn't! And we don't! For generations we sculpted the _perfect princess_! Built a right proper _cult_ around it! Hundreds of volumes on the most _inane_ things! Right down to _how wide the tines on a fork should be!"_ Olga broke off suddenly, her voice crumbling as it took on almost a frantic tone. She gasped for breath, her frame shuddering.

As she breathed, Marco blinked and shakily turned to his teapot and began to pour. That was terrifying and he did the first thing that popped into his head. Olga needed to calm down. He had to do _something._ He picked it up and rushed it over to Olga. He pressed it into her and she seemed to just take it automatically and began to sip.

"I'm sorry." Marco found himself saying. He had no idea what he was sorry for, but he felt like he had done something wrong… or at least, something went wrong.

"Your brew is _dreadful."_ Olga spat, her voice recovering its familiar crow. She still continued to drink, however.

"Sorry."

"Get it right next time."

"I will."

"Three minutes. Twenty-seven seconds – _and save the tealeaves!_ "

"Indeed. My apologies." Marco walked back to the stove and strained the leaves out of the pot and started the whole process over. Olga didn't say anything and he didn't either. The only sound was the hiss of the gas stove and Olga's haggard breathing, but even that started to smooth over. A few, agonizing minutes passed between them in silence. He was loath to bring it up again, but something she had said bothered Marco, or at least, made him curious. "May I ask _you_ something your grace?"

"… What?" She said in a curt tone.

"If you say that all Butterflies go through this conditioning like you said. Well, why didn't Star go through it?" Marco asked. Olga didn't answer him right away. In fact, she stayed silent for so long that Marco eventually broke away from the stove to check to see if she had heard him. He was surprised to find that she was leering at him. He wasn't completely sure himself, but it almost looked like she _knew_ something.

"You have that joke of a king, _River_ to thank for that." She said and promptly turned back around. "Now Mr. Diaz I will _not_ discuss this anymore. Pay attention to your _tea_ and talk and you will keep talking until you actually _finish_ this time…"

* * *

"Right." Marco nodded, walking back to the stove. "Well – Like I said, turns out it was _pirates…"_

Marco groaned and he felt a little saliva drip out the corner of his mouth. His head felt like it was stuffed with cotton and his mouth felt like it was stuffed with golf balls of all things. He felt a tight pressure on his mid-section, and a warm whipping breeze sliced through his hair and neck. The smell of brine tickled his nose and he sneezed.

" _Oi, little guy is waking up."_ He heard a high whistling voice say.

" _I'll get the cap'n."_ Heard another say, this voice a salty rumble.

He blinked a couple of times, his vision distorted from a few errant tears in his eyes. When they cleared, he saw wood of all things, like a wood floor. An big, meaty hand suddenly came into view, reaching under his chin and lifting him up and Marco came face to face with, quite frankly, an ugly bearded face.

" _Wakey Wakey you."_ He spoke in a high tone, whistling tone that didn't match at all with how he looked. A round, wrinkled face that matched the rest of his body coupled with a dirty bandana covering his baldhead. He had a hooked nose and several missing teeth and his breath had a horrible stench of old fish and mint. " _Right honor to be meeting you…"_ He said, a fresh wave wafting into Marco's nose.

" _S-St-Stop_." Marco had a hard time saying, but if this guy talked anymore he was going to throw up.

"Wassat?" He said, a flash of puzzlement over his face "Oh wait. Izzit me breath now?" He asked. Marco nodded quickly.

" _Ohh."_ He said, moving his head back. "Right sorry about that luv. Y'see its just a spot of halitosis you know. Awful stuff. Only thing that doesn't aggravate it is the hard tack now, but course we haven't had hard tack for a couple of days. Been eating the _Ice-Fins_. Bitter little buggers they are, but we be needing the oil from them, y'see, powerful sleep aid it is luv. S'what we used on ye back there… Hey, actually now that ye are awake, can ye explain just what ye were doing when we nabbed ya? Sounded odd yes it did. –"

"Sneed, for barnacles sakes stop talking his ear off." Another person one slapped Sneed's head from the back and approached Marco.

"What? We just having a right proper conversation is all Snod." Sneed protested.

"No one wants to have a conversation with you Sneed."

"Oh now ye just be a bloody liar!"

"Who cares? Go make yerself scarce now. Cap'n will be here shortly." He informed. When he didn't move, Snod hit him again. " _Idiot_ he's still mad about the pufferfish!"

"He is not!"

"Yes he is! Get below deck!" Snod shooed him away. From the nervous look on Sneed's face, whatever happened with the pufferfish must have been serious because he skittered off, leaving Marco alone with the Snod. Where Sneed was short, Snod was lanky and tall with a thin face and pointed chin. A tousle of jet-black hair on his head with a thin tangling moustache. "Apologies for that luv. Sneed's the excitable type ye understand? Lad doesn't brush his teeth either." Snod grimaced.

"What… happened? What's going… on?" Marco found it easier to say, but he still hadn't shaken it totally.

"Cap'n wants to tell ya about the going ons." He responded. "As for ye first part, we nabbed ya. Mighty sorry bout that luv, but had no other choice, y'see… But look at you, huh? Lucky lad you are." Marco shook his head, it was slow, but his head was starting to become clearer.

"What are you talking about?" Marco asked.

"Ye be hitched to a _Butterfly_ course! _Bolero_ would be proud he would!" He chuckled.

"No… Not that." Marco didn't really know what to say. First of all, he wasn't hitched. He was spoken for. Second, who the heck was Bolero? Third, that wasn't what he wanted to know. Fourth… he wasn't hitched. "I mean, what do you mean you nabbed me? Why?"

"Cap'n wants to tell ya that." Snod said with a nod.

"Well then whose the captain?" Marco asked, getting impatient, still fuzzy, but he could feel himself returning. As if on cue, an imposing figure, in a brilliant wool red coat with black buttons and an extravagant black hat, clomped up. He had broad shoulders, and a squared chiseled chin with a shock of ginger curls coming out of his hat. A silvered saber clanking at his hip He regarded Marco with icy blue eyes.

"That'd be me." He rumbled in a salty tone. "So. Ye be the blood lover? Ye must be joking…" The captain reached into one of his coat pockets and produced some kind of instrument, round and glinting with a golden sheen against the evening sun. He inspected it for a moment, directing it towards Marco. "… Ye are." He moved it slightly to the right, walking a bit to Marco's right. " _Seas take me_ , it's true… a Butterfly is a _blood lover_." He shrugged his massive shoulders, and put the instrument away. "Ye don't look the part _boy_."

"Okay. Now hold on a second here." Marco said, struggling a bit. He looked down to see that ropes were banded around his body. He must have been tied to a mast, they weren't tight, but he wasn't going anywhere. He looked to his side, where the captain had stepped and he discovered Star Butterfly was tied to the same mast as him, her head lulled to one side, still asleep with drool on the edge of her lips. "Okay. What in the world is going on? Who are you? What are you doing? Why am I here and why are you calling me love? Feel free to answer these questions in any order you want, but I want them _answered_." Marco brought up a tough façade. Was entirely silly considering he was tied up and the one he was talking to was three times his width, but it was just a force of habit to lash out. The captain didn't seem all that impressed.

" _Oi_." The captain said, turning to Snod. "Leave."

"Aye." Snod said and walked away. When he left the captain leaned over to Marco's right reaching out and beginning to gentle jostle the ropes.

"The Butterfly oughta to be awake for this." He said. Marco could only see Star if he really craned his neck, so he just kept looking straight ahead. He could see that they were indeed on a ship. The sun was dipping low in the horizon casting the sky in a mess of orange, yellow, and pink as it set. The deck was bustling with what he could really only describe as true blue _pirates_. Snod was busy dumping the contents of a bucket overboard. Others were mopping or coiling rope, rolling barrels or lazing along the nets. He could hardly believe it… but it was real and it happened while on his double date. If he really squinted straight ahead he could also make out a line of land.

A gaggle of snorts broke Marco away from scanning to his side. The captain had returned to standing just across from them and Marco's ropes started to move and tighten.

" _Huh. What._ AH!" Star erupted with a jerk that tightened around Marco's stomach, causing the air to squeeze out of him. "MARCO DON'T EAT THE FISH!" She yelled.

"Butterfly." The captain straightened up, and placed a hand over his chest bowing slightly. "Can't say I respect ye taste in men."

"Wha- What." Star started to sputter, even though it hurt his neck, Marco had his head turned so he could see Star. She had just about as much idea of what was going on as him, which was zero. Star really started to struggle hard against the restraints, chafing Marco's stomach.

" _Star. Stop."_ Marco gasped.

"MARCO!" Star yelled. "I CAN HEAR YOU WHERE ARE YOU!"

"I'm right next to you. Tied up."

"… Oh." Star craned her neck and she saw him. "Wait I'm tied up to."

"Yes, I am to."

"This is unacceptable."

"I mean- I'm just as confused about what's happening Star."

"Butterfly. An honor." The captain gruffed. "Now I gotta –"

"You!" Star shouted. Marco yelped as he felt his back scrape against the wood and move around the mast to the point where he was now staring at the side of the boat. "What is going on here? _"_

"… I am Captain Waltz of the _Flame upon the Sea._ I have brought ye on me ship because I have a proposition for ye.. _."_ Waltz wasted no time in saying. There was a pause. Marco tried to crane his neck to see what was going on, but he had shifted so much he couldn't see Star's face anymore. Marco snorted. This wasn't a proposition.

"I have a proposition for you." Star said. "It's called I kick your butt if you don't let us leave."

"It's rhetorical Ms. Butterfly. Ye ain't got a choice." Waltz plowed ahead. "Now. How would ye like to make the world a richer place _hmm?"_

"What, like treasure or something?" Marco piped up. Way too easy of a connection to make.

" _Oi,_ now am I talking to ye?" Waltz rumbled.

"What are you talking about? What is going on?" Star muttered.

"Ms. Butterfly, ye don't need to know what is happening, nor do ye need to know what we're doing… but if ye want me personal opinion? …Y _e can do better._ " Waltz spread his hands out, he paused for half a second. "All I need ye to do is… _cooperate._ Yes? Ye cooperate, and we bring ye back right where we found ye."

"I still want to kick your butt. And what do you mean 'I can do better'? Cause I can do that to if you want. I could _also_ chop your butt off." Star stated.

"Star I don't think we're going to be doing any butt kicking or chopping." Marco said. His minds been awhirl, trying to think of… well, anything really, but a plan wasn't really forthcoming. Tied up, mysterious place, building of a man imposing on them? Wasn't much they could do…

"Oi, listen to the _willow-spine_ Butterfly." Waltz said, staring at Star. She must have not softened at all because Waltz gave a grumble, beginning to dig into his pockets. "Alright. If ye going to be like that…" His arm stopped moving and he pulled out an object. He held it up and Marco felt his heart leap into his throat. It was Star's star purse. That contained her wand and scissors…

"What are you doing with that!?" Star shouted.

"Butterfly I know you lot are known for your spirit when ye aren't filling yer head fulla _junk_ , but even ye can figure when to stand down." Waltz held the purse over her head. "Ye cooperate. Ye get this back and can go home. Not a hair harmed. We won't even ruffle ye little _willow-spine_."

"Are you referring to me?" Marco jibbed, indignant.

"Well I certainly would never call a _Butterfly_ a _willow-spine."_ Waltz deadpanned.

"Do _not_ call Marco that." Star said in a low, dangerous tone. "He is my friend." There was a pause as Waltz regarded Star, then Marco, sizing them up.

" _Oi."_ He mussed his hand over his face, mumbling low. " _Fate be a funny thing…"_

"What are you saying?" Star said. Marco could tell she was about ready to boil over…. He didn't blame her. It felt like Waltz was just on a different wavelength… and Marco wasn't happy with the implications.

"Not important, _what do I know…"_ Waltz dismissed, and Marco heard a low guttural growl echoing out of Star. "But do we have a deal Butterfly? Will ye cooperate?" He asked, and Star didn't answer for a good ten seconds. Marco was about to open his mouth and agree for her when she finally talked.

" _Whatever. Not like I gotta choice."_

"Good, and for formality's sake. _Marco_ , will ye cooperate?"

"Sure..."

"Good." Waltz drew himself to his full height, nodding. "Don't worry ye two, we're right off the island. Should only take ten, twenty minutes tops –"

"CAP'N! THERE BE A SHIP!"

A piercing yell rang out way above them, startling Marco. He couldn't see anything from where he was, but looking over at Waltz saw him frozen, mid-sentence.

"… _Aye Fate be a cruel thing."_ He muttered, taking a few steps back and let loose a roar. "OI! WHAT Y'SEE CROW?"

"CRUSIER! SALISBURY'S COLORS! THEY GOT US CAP'N!"

"Now here I thought we lost em in the reefs…" He grumbled. "HOW CLOSE!"

"GOT TIME!"

"Good at least…" He said. He stood there, thinking for a moment before snapping his fingers. It sounded like a hammer hitting flint. "Snod! C'mere!"

"Aye Cap'n?" Snod plopped over.

"Get that moron partner Sneed of yours. Gotta job for ye."

"Aye."

Snod ran off, below deck. Waltz brushed off his hand on his coat and walked back over Star and Marco.

"Sorry you two. Change of plans." Waltz said bluntly " _His Lordship_ , Salisbury is paying us a visit."

"Whose Salisbury?" Marco asked. He got two answers at once, one from Star and one from Waltz.

"He's an idiot."

"Some creep who likes my _mom_."

"Ah. So we agree on one thing." Waltz commented. "Very much a creep."

"Why is he here?" Star said, very much riled.

"Because the _idiot_ wants the treasure for himself. Been trailing us for days now… Thought we lost em which is why we nabbed ya."

" _So it is a treasure!"_ Marco shouted.

" _Yes. Obviously it is."_ Waltz muttered. "But ye two will be going _ahead_ of us. Getting Sneed and Snod to stuff ye two in one of our safe houses on the island, while we deal with our little predicament."

"And how long is this going to take? I am on a date with a _very_ important person right now…" Star asked, her feet tapping.

"For Salisbury? May take… two hours." Waltz said, and Marco could immediately feel that that was the wrong answer to say.

" _You gotta be kidding me!"_ Star screeched. "I am on a date with a _hunk_!" She started to struggle in the ropes again. Marco wasn't happy either. For a little bit, he actually thought that this was going to be over quickly, but fat chance of that happening now. Night was ruined... Although he knew that Jackie would understand, but he felt really bad for Star. This was supposed to be her night.

Waltz stood there silent, Sneed and Snod appeared behind him, standing at the ready.

"Ye really think that this _willow-spine_ is a… _hunk?"_ He said finally.

"Who? Marco?" Star said. "No… I'm on a date with someone else, Oskar Greeson. You thought I was dating Marco?"

"Well. Ye are the Blood Lovers. Sneed, Snod, get them ready."

"What?" Star said. "What does that mean?"

" _Means ye ain't got a choice._ Now scoot."

* * *

Captain Waltz offered little information after that. Sneed and Snod had shimmied them out of their ropes and bond their wrists real tight to the point where it hurt. They had moved them both off to a little Dinghy off on the ships side and lowered them down into the water. The strip of land was a distance away and Snod took up the rear two paddles and began to row with Sneed at the bow, lazily brandishing a silver knife at them, his intent clear. Him and Star were in the middle of them, facing each other. Thank goodness the sea was quite calm, else he would have had to vomit off on the side and with them four all crammed together, it would have made this quite unpleasant.

Marco was swirling with questions, worry, and stewing in sweat. He still had no idea what was going on other than it was pirates, and there was treasure… but to be honest from all the TV shows he's watched as a kid, that wasn't really surprising. Pirates and treasure went together like peanut butter and jelly. What really made him uneasy was this whole _Blood Lovers_ thing. He's been hearing them bandy that phrase around ever since this whole mess started and its not like he's dumb or anything, he at can piece _something_ together from the little tidbits he's heard… but when he started putting the pieces together, he didn't really like what he was seeing coming out of it. He didn't appreciate people making assumptions about his relationship to Star, they were _friends_ and that was all there was to it.

However… if he was just a little uneasy, Star was a different story entirely. She looked _different_. A veritable scowl was brewing on her face and her blue iris' were barely visible. She just sat there, rigged to the spot, slightly hunched over. She was looking straight ahead and at both the same time looked like she was staring at him, and _through him_. She must have been thinking about the date, and by the look on her face… she wasn't happy about it one bit. Not that he can blame her, she had every right to be angry right now. He really wanted to get some one on one time with her, talk things out as he knew that helped her just as much as it helped him, but two things prevented that: One, they were tied up, and two, Sneed wouldn't shut up.

"… Well now izn't this nice eh? _Blood Lovers_ got sum time with each other. Calm waters… y'know it's really quite lucky, usually the waves are pretty choppy they are."

"Sneed – For barnacles sakes – _shut up."_ Snod huffed in between paddles.

"Oi it's just a spot of conversation Snod, ye rather we just sit here in silence?"

" _Yes."_ Snod said.

" _Eh,_ you're no fun." Sneed dismissed him with a waggle of his knife. "So how's it that you two met huh? Must be a right proper story… Right out of the pictures books mum used to read I'm shure." He asked, switching his gaze between Marco and Star. Marco suppressed his sass from creeping up. Like it or not, he wanted to cooperate with these two and he didn't want to jeopardize that.

"How's about _you_ tell me a story." Star retorted, standing up suddenly and leaning into Sneed. Her scowl had deepened into a full-blown storm and her voice held a unexpected amount of anger. "What's all this junk about _Blood Lovers?"_

" _Star…"_ Marco said, trying to throw as much warning into his tone as he could.

"Oi lass. _Easy_ … boats tipping and I don't want a drink right now…" Sneed held up his hands in a surrender stance, the knife glinting in one.

" _Sneed_ – Ye be the one – _with the knife…"_ Snod reminded him.

" _Oi…_ but _she be cutting with them eyes already Snod_."

" _Barnacles Sakes – Ye ninny_ …"

"Star, sit down… You're rocking the boat." Marco said, giving her a short little bap with his arm on her legs. Star didn't give any indication that she noticed, but eventually she sat down slowly and Sneed straightened out, trying to calm himself. Although it wasn't long until his nerves did a complete one eighty and he looked quizzical at them both.

"Wait – so ye telling me ye ain't know what a Blood Lover is… ?" He trailed off, but then chuckled. "Oi. Ye hear that Snod? Blood lovers don't know that they blood lovers." He said. Snod paddled a few times in silence before grunting and cocking his head.

"Well – That would explain – How a _willow-spine_ – got hitched – to a Butterfly I guess…" He said at last.

"Hey." Marco said indignant. Although It was an interesting question Star asked, truth be told he was actually kind of interested in hearing about it to… maybe it wasn't what he was thinking it was.

"Now don't worry bout that luv. Just a word we got for new guys, ye know, like greenhorn." Sneed explained.

"Well?" Star pressed and Sneed cringed.

"Right… well, do ye know about _Bolero?"_

"Does it look like I know about _Bolero_?" Star asked sarcastically. Sneed, for his part, looked at her in bewilderment.

" _Seas take me_ – ye don't know about _Bolero_ …" He mumbled, he looked to Marco who raised his eyebrows. If Star didn't know about Bolero then why would he know it? Marco shrugged.

"Sneed – Not exactly – a common story now." Snod piped up.

"Snod. It's _Bolero… the pirate king._ Greatest pirate to ever grace the Mewni seas he was. _"_ He spoke, resting a palm on his breast. Unfortunately he used the palm that was holding the knife and slit his shirt. Sneed didn't notice.

"So I'm just spit balling here." Marco spoke. "But I have a feeling we're going after _Bolero's_ treasure."

"Oi – now how'd ye figure that out then?" Sneed said. Marco shrugged. He loved his parents, but one thing about them was that they were never really _present_ in his life… So, he watched a _ton_ of TV to make up for that. He's seen just about any kind of show you could think of; even pirate movies… and pirates were _always_ after some kind of _treasure of cortez, smortez, lortez,_ whatever you want to call it.

"Alright… Now are you going to start talking then?" Star asked, it didn't sound like a question though.

"Oi yeah… Yes ma'am – so…" Sneed stuttered and cleared his throat. He took a moment of silence, gathering his thoughts before speaking. "Right then. _Bolero, the Pirate King._ Greatest pirate in all of Mewni he was. They say he had half the world's gold, jewels, and mead stowed away in his hull in his prime... always shared his wealth with those lesser and brought a fiery passion to all whom met him he did. But, he was a lonely sort he was. Never could find himself a lass to match him he couldn't. Couldn't catch an eye through his twenties, thirties or forties he couldn't. Now, I imagine I don't need to tell ye how that kind of failure changes a man. He became a terror as he grayed. Plundered and pillaged all he could for the sake of it right up till he sat clawing on his death bed… Now, if ye think the story ends there ye be mistaken… They say as he stood judgment in the underworld, he spun his tale so woefully, so sorrowfully that it even brought a steaming tear to the demon judge's eye… he pleaded with the demons to make amends… to never let another suffer the same fate as he and they worked out a _deal._ So. Every six hundred and sixty seven years, the moon shines _red_ and his spirit comes forth to choose two souls to bind them… Come to known as the _Blood Lovers."_ Sneed finished with a flourish of his hand that was holding the knife, barely missing his cheek.

Marco and Star had listened and a silence mushroomed between them four. Snod paddled in silence, contemplative. Marco listened, neutral, he was actually keeping an eye on Star whose expression changed drastically as the story unfolded. She started off angry, but that eventually melted into a small, meek frown. Something was up with her and desperately wanted to talk… it killed him that he couldn't. Sneed took in a deep breath "But if ye think the story ends THERE… well ye be mistaken!" He dove into it again. "On his death bed, Bolero instructed his men to bury his lifetime of plunder with him on this very island we're paddling to… a kingdom's worth of gold, jewels, furs, spirits, and ivory... but it's sealed y'see. Sealed by his strongest wish… now… _do ye know wot that wish maybe?_ " He asked, smiling.

"Going out on a limb…" Marco said after a pause. "But the blood lovers."

"Aye! Indeed! Ye got it!" Sneed bobbed his head. "So that's why we nabbed ye! Treasure chamber will only open for _ye both._ " he finished, patting his knee.

"So…" Star began. "This moon, are you talking about the _Blood Moon?"_

 _"_ Aye, that's what the demons christened it as." Sneed said. "But the quickest way to Bolero's good graces they say was through his _feet._ He always said that the one for him would have been the one who can _dance_ and swept him off his feet."

"Uh huh…" Marco murmured. That pretty much confirmed it to him, Star to by the look of it. She never was any good at hiding her feelings and she looked really anxious.

"Land." Snod said, startling them all. Marco snapped his head to one side to see that, indeed, they were quite close to the shore.

"Great! Time flies when ye be having a ball…" Sneed cheered. Marco wasn't so sure, Star looked like she was trapped, if anything…

* * *

When they got to shallower waters, both Sneed and Snod jumped out to drag the boat to the shore. Marco got his first real good look at the island. It was a generous patch of beach they were on, golden sand and plenty of debris, and washed up plant-water sat baking in the evening sun. As soon as the beach ended, a jungle of palms and thick trucks sprang up. Looking to one side, he could see an outcropping of rocks where the waves slammed against them. The other side just had more beach.

"Alright ye two! Out the king and queen _go…"_ Sneed bounced over to one side of the boat. He held out one free hand for Star, and with his other, he placed the butt of his knife over his mouth and began to _doot_ a jinglingly bad rendition of _Here comes the bride._ Marco didn't appreciate that, but Star looked like she was about ready to kill him on the spot.

" _Oi._ Sneed, shut up." Snod roughly picked Marco up and hefted him unto the ground.

"Wot? It's true Snod. Destiny they call it y'know… _ahh,_ brings a tear to me eye it does." When they were all off the boat. Sneed took point with Star behind him, Marco was behind Star, and Snod brought up the rear. They walked further unto the beach where Sneed stopped suddenly, fishing around in his breast pocket before bringing up a folded piece of parchment. "Oi. Always forget where that safe house is." He muttered.

"You follow the red marked trunks ye ninny."

"I thought it was blue?"

"That's for the fishing hole."

"No. That's for our water supply."

" _Idiot._ It's the same thing!"

"Oh now ye telling me – ye even _know_ what fish do in the water Snod? Bringing this up to the cap'n next time we see'em, not healthy it is."

" _Barnacles sakes…"_ Snod grumbled. Marco ran into Star without warning and took a jittered step back, startled. He felt Snod hit him from the back. " _Oi. Why ye stopping Sneed!"_

"Stop? I didn't stop…" Sneed said, and it was true. He was a few paces ahead of them. All three pairs of eyes fell on Star, who was standing there, twitching. "Oi. Lass." Sneed said, walking back. "Ye okay?" Sneed reached up to poke her shoulder, and when he did, Star turned her head suddenly, opened her mouth, and _chomped_ on his finger. Sneed wailed in a higher octave than befitting a man. "YOW! YOW LASS!" He wrenched his finger back, swelling red and Star let him go easily enough. He took a few steps back, whipping his hand up and down. Star didn't waste anytime while he was distracted, stepping into his space and bringing her leg up to deliver a colossal kick right in his stomach. Sneed let loose a whimpering grunt as the air sailed out of him and he was thrown back like a rag doll.

"OI!" Snod thundered. Marco felt himself being cast off to the side and eating sand. His mind was blank right now, he had no idea what Star was doing. "LASS NOW WHAT ARE YE DOING?!" He yelled. Marco flopped himself up, terrified. But, he found his terror to be unfounded. He got up just in time to see Star jump up and deliver a roundhouse kick that caught Snod right in the jaw, and he went tumbling down like a pile of bricks.

It all happened so quickly and when it was over, Marco found himself looking at two unconscious pirates. He wasn't even sure how he felt about it at first, it didn't occur to him just what happened.

"Star… _what was that?"_ He stammered. It all clicked at once. Stupid! So Stupid! They needed to cooperate with these people. They had no wand, no scissors, no idea where they were, alone, no food, no water, nothing!

"Help me." Star said, marching over to where Sneed had collapsed. He had taken a few tumbles and had ended up lying on his stomach. One arm was hooked underneath his lying form. "Okay. Where is the knife?" Star grumbled.

"Did you… kill him?" Marco asked, his face turning white and sweat springing from his pits, they just committed a felony didn't they? The arm hooked under him was the one that had the knife…

" _Uhhh…"_ Star responded. She kicked at Sneed at a bit before resting her foot underneath him and flipping him over. He was out like a light, and the knife sat gleaming right on his breast, only the flat of the blade pressing against him. "No. No I didn't." She confirmed. "Marco, can you get the knife with your hands?"

"Um… I-I guess?" Marco could see what she was trying to do and scrambling behind him. It was awkward trying to negotiate the knife out of Sneed's hands. He had to lie on him at one point, but he got it well enough and eventually grasped the knife.

"Okay, just – hold it. Blade out, like straight out." Star instructed and Marco did so. They stood back to back for a moment and Marco could hear the sawing of their bindings, finally ending in a snap and Star went free. "Okay, drop the knife." Star said. He let go and Star picked it up, beginning to work on Marco's binding which went a lot faster. When he heard the snap, Marco spread out his arms and stretched. It felt awesome.

Star was already skimming Snod's unconscious body, digging into his pockets and shirt. She didn't find anything and walked back over to Sneed. She plucked the parchment out of the sand which had fluttered to the ground next to him and held both parchment and knife in her hands. Marco assessed the situation. They had two unconscious pirates on their hands. He could clearly see the ship that they had came from out further in the water. Except he saw another ship rested at it's side, one of them, he assumed was Salisbury's ship. He couldn't see anything else go on from there. Pretty bleak.

"Star, why did you do that?" Marco asked again to Star who was walking on the beach, back towards the dinghy.

"Marco. I am _not_ waiting for two hours." Star said, her feet hitting the water. "We are going back. I'm going to kick all of their _butts_ , and we're going to have _dessert."_

"How are we going to get back Star?" Marco asked. He felt frustration start to well up in him. This was reckless.

"Either I'll paddle or you paddle." Star stopped and turned to look at him. "Marco. _Come on."_

"Do you think we're even strong enough to paddle out that far?" Marco said. No, this really was starting to feel brazen. His instincts told him that this was just a bad idea… Bad idea to knock out their only two guides, but that was done without his input.

"Probably. We can take shifts."

"Star. No." Marco said, that was not a good answer. No. He was putting the kibosh on this.

" _Marco…_ Come. On."

"No Star. This is a bad idea. I'm not doing this." He said. Star glowered at him, angry.

" _Why?_ "

"Because, all we need to do is _cooperate_ and we go home."

"Marco, they are pirates, don't trust them. If we do cooperate I can kiss my date with Oskar goodbye, and _I don't want to do that…"_

"I know." Marco nodded, "I mean – I'm on a date with Jackie. I don't like this either… but I just don't think we have a choice here."

"Marco…" Star looked hurt, which confused him; they really didn't have a choice with this. "We always have a choice."

"Star. _"_ Marco sighed. "Look. I know you can deal with a few monsters, but you're talking about fighting two ships here. There's no guarantee that we can even _make_ it out there. Plus you don't have your wand; we'd be fighting on their terms… I just – Star, I don't think we should do this." Marco tried to explain. Star glared at him, and then at the boat she was next two, like she was having a furious debate with herself.

"Well – what would you say then?" She said after a minute. "What do we do?"

"Well…" Marco considered. He wanted to keep going along, just cause he didn't really see any other option. At the same time though, he did understand that Star had a point and it really pained him to say it and he didn't want to admit it, but it felt like they were going to be getting back at a reasonable time… "How about, we just take the map, and find the safe house?" He suggested. It'd be a lot safer than just sitting out here.

" _Marco_ that's like the first spot they'll look for us." Star shook her head.

"So?" Marco shrugged. "That's what I mean Star. We have nothing else we can do here. We need to _keep with them._ It's our only chance, however small it maybe." He added. Star still looked like she wasn't convinced, but she wasn't exactly protesting. He felt like he needed to say more… "Star… I know you don't trust them, but please _trust me_. I really think this is how we should play it." That seemed to really hit her. Her anger dropped finally and she just looked despondent.

"Marco I do trust you… I'm just worried and angry and itchy and wrinkly and all this other stuff." She said, and silently Marco agreed. Part of him wanted them to get situated so that they could talk. It was obvious that Star was out of sorts. She needed someone to vent to.

"I know, I'm not too happy either about this." Marco said, walking up to her. he reached out to the map and gently tugged on it. "You trust me?" He asked. Star cringed a little bit, but nodded slowly.

"I do." She said, letting go of the map.

"Okay. I promise, we'll get home… Midnight Sugarittos? We can beg Oskar to come." Marco offered. That dragged a small smile out of her.

" _Heh…_ maybe, yeah."

"Alright…" Marco said, unfolding the map. It was quite detailed actually, filled with little notes, reminders, and markings. Each of them angrily reminding Sneed of something or other. "Now he said to do the red markings right?"

"I dunno I wasn't listening."

"… _Okay,_ Lets get organized here. Here we go."

"Wait." Star said suddenly "If we're going to stick with them… What should we do about _those two?"_ She pointed to Sneed and Snod. Marco almost slapped his forehead, he had forgot about that.

"Well… we can't carry them." Marco said. In fact, there wasn't a whole lot they could do about them…

" _Oi…"_ Sneed's form twitched and a low whining groan emanating from him. " _WhasThis now?"_ He slouched upwards, hand on his gut.

"Oh… he's up." Marco said, eyes wide. He snapped his eyes to Snod, expecting him to come to, but he remained still.

"Well – I hit him in the stomach Star said. "If you really want to knock someone out, you go for the head… _kinda why I wanted to go so quick… you know?_ "

"Oh." Marco nodded.

" _Ouf… me stomach feels like a mule kicked it."_ Sneed moaned.

"Um. _Hi…"_ Star approached Sneed. He still looked like he was wavering. "Um – Sneed? I'm sorry for hitting you and your friend."

" _Oh… Ye. Hello."_ Sneed noticed Star. He went still. " _Um_ so I take it ye not feeling so good?"

"I'm am so so so so sorry Sneed – It's just, y'know, it's been a really rough day for me so far.

"Oh… well, I'm sorry lass." Sneed stopped to rub his stomach. " _Ouf._ Never get in front of a Butterfly's warpath, remember that _willow-spine."_

"Are you going to be okay?" Marco asked, walking up.

"Oh yeh. Yeh. _Had worse._ Snod's the one ye should worry about." Sneed cocked a head over at his partner. "Take it ye hit him _harder… hah."_

"Is he going to be mad?" Star was starting to twirl her hair.

"Oh. Maybe." Sneed thought about it, but ultimately dismissed it. "Eh, he's a tough one he is. He should be fine…" Sneed looked around, and out to the water, his face dropping into consideration. "Now though… We really shouldn't be out here. Not safe for ye two it is with Salisbury off the coast now… but we really can't leave me partner here, and I take it ye don't have the strength hold him, cause I don't, not many people do. _Hah."_

"Well we have the map." Marco flashed it to him. Sneed took a few breaths and nodded. "We can go to the safe house." Sneed sat there, the gears in his head clanking from the looks of it.

"… Well, I suppose ye ain't really got a choice now. Secluded island. We only got the means of escape, Captain got yer scissors he does… unless ye thinking about fighting the captain now – but that's a right fool plan it is, captain ain't no joke when it comes to fighting he is." He listed off. "Yeh. I suppose I can trust ye here. I'll stick with Snod, ye get yerself off to the safe house. Like Snod said, follow the red markers on the trunks. It's a cave, by the way."

"Would you… like your knife back?" Star said slowly. Marco was surprised; he thought she was just going to keep it. Maybe that was like some kind of peace offering?

"Oh, ye too kind." Sneed waved it off. "Keep it. Not every day ye get to say ye tussled with a _Butterfly_ now. Hah. Okay, I feel like taking a nap. Not my choice mind you, but… _eh…."_ Sneed plopped back on the ground, out cold.

Both Star and Marco stared for a moment, before Marco snapped his eyes up.

"Okay. So… here we go, for real."

* * *

The pace was slow and tortuous, working their way through the jungle. Marco took point with the map out. Luckily for them, there was only one shoreline on the whole island which allowed him to get a starting point and from there, tease out the path from there and they eventually fell into a quiet rhythm. Star wasn't particularly chatty, for good reason and he wasn't exactly much for conversation either. If anything, he was thankful for the mindless walking as it allowed his mind to mull over all the recent developments.

He found it far-fetched, this whole Blood Lovers thing. Sneed's little story had him replaying the whole Blood Moon Ball in his head. Trying to pick apart anything that would have indicated anything unnatural or any kind of change. It was certainly a memorable day. Not everyday you chop off a demon's hand, break into the underworld and dance under the moonlight but that's just it. Try as he might, Marco couldn't really say his feelings had changed that day for Star, because, well, if this whole Blood Lovers thing were true, wouldn't he had felt something? Wouldn't something have changed about them right after that dance? He certainly is _noticing_ the physical side of Star more, but that's just girls in general. Not really changing feelings.

He had known about the Blood Moon being the moon of lovers from a voice he heard of a painting and come to think of it… who was the one speaking to him anyway? He had asked Star about it when they were eating nachos that same night, but she only shrugged and attributed it to her wand. Even so, he had worried about Star that night. It just all seemed to be too perfect, like some kind of steamy romance drama. A spicy hot old flame drops into her life again to come and take her away. Taking her to some formal _ball_ and sweet-talk her _._ He had watched her grow more and more excited over the day trying on dresses, makeup, and gushing. It was like some weird sort of engineered fairytale put on by a manipulative dork, and Star was going to _fall for it_. But, of course she didn't fall for it, which caught him flat-footed. He had never been felt such an odd mixture of relief and shame when Star told him she could handle herself.

Marco shook her head, trying to shake his thoughts straight. This whole Blood Lovers thing was kind of stupid in his opinion. He didn't believe it. He was already spoken for, and Star was hung up on Oskar. Why would supposed Blood Lovers be attracted to anything else?

Their shadows began to lengthen and the bright vibrant colors of the jungle began to dull and blacken as the sun dipped below the horizon. Fortunate for them, they were close as he could tell from the map. It got dark enough where he got out his phone and used its light to see. About all it was good for that moment, whenever they went dimension hopping he lost all his bars, so he essentially had a two hundred dollar flashlight. Star had closed the gap between them to the point where she was pretty much right on top of him, handing resting lightly on his shoulder.

It was with the last wisps of sunlight though that that they finally found their destination. It was an innocuous looking cave mouth, covered with vines and foliage to mask. They had almost missed it if they hadn't had the map and the red-markers to go on. Star had moved in front and used the knife to chop through, creating a small opening for them that they could slip through. Thank goodness he had his phone on him, otherwise they'd be in pitch-blackness. They stood for a moment at the cave's mouth, Star's grip had tightened on his shoulder and he had raised his arm to rest it on her arm so they wouldn't lose each other. A quick survey of the room revealed an old rusty valve. A piece of driftwood had been nailed to the Rockwall with a red arrow painted on it, pointing towards it.

Not knowing what else to do. Marco approached the valve and cranked it easily enough. It groaned after a few turns but after a bit, the hiss of gas slipped through the cavern and Marco squinted his eyes as lamps bolted to the ceiling blazed forth, lighting up the cavern. He grinned in triumph and Star relaxed her grip, smiling as well. The cavern was a narrow hallway with a rather low roof and the line of lamps on the ceiling led deeper into the cave.

"Ready?" Marco asked.

"Yeah." Star responded.

They plunged into the cave. The rock was surprisingly smooth, worn from use and the walls looked like they were roughly carved away, smoothed over. Marco could hardly begin to guess just how old this was. The hallway they were in began to slant down and he was pleasantly surprised to find the stone floor carved into small steps, which made walking easy. The light was subdued and the slight scent of what smelt like pine oil hung in the air from the lamps. The air had grown lighter, divorced from the humidity of the jungle. Eventually, the cave straightened out and the hallway widened, culminating in a wide cavernous bulb of a room. Stalagmites hung from the ceiling with lamps and torches gently swaying from them. The ceiling was so high that it the light didn't reach all way, giving the room the appearance of like a false starry sky. He had to be honest; it made his jaw drop at how beautiful it was. Never saw something like this on earth.

The room was like a giant circle and was pretty well situated. Rugs and carpet had been thrown on the stone floor. Chairs ranging from simple wooden table ones to rich luxurious burgundy easy chairs were huddled around huge oak wood tables, ancient in appearance. There was a slightly raised platform of rock where barrels had been placed, like some kind of larder it occurred to Marco. Beds dominated the other side of the room, small; narrow three story bunk beds with thin sheets. These pirates didn't live squalor that much was apparent.

" _Whoa."_ Star intoned.

"Heh – no kidding." Marco agreed. They stood there looking into the room for a couple seconds, just taking it all in.

"Hm. So what do we do?" Star finally said.

"Well, I guess we just wait for them." Marco said. "How long would you say it's been?"

"Uh. I don't know. Like maybe an hour?" Star said.

"Oh wait a minute, I got my phone." Marco said, fishing it out. He checked and, indeed, it had roughly been about an hour. If Captain Waltz was to be believed, they had roughly an hour left to wait. "Yeah, it's been an hour."

"Hm. In that case, _I call the big chair_." Star skipped over to a big yellow chair with big puffy cushions and hopped in there. Marco was slower to join her, taking note on some other things in the cave. The chairs were around a small thin depression in the rock. It was blackened with soot. Must be for fires.

He chose a more modest chair, an old hickory one with small legs and a hard back. Wasn't ideal, but it was the one next to Star. Star had already settled into her seat, but she fidgeted and twitched. Marco sat for a few minutes. The cave was silent, far away from the outside and Marco whiled away some time by looking up at the ceiling. He still wanted to talk, but for now he was content to just be sitting down. His limbs felt like there were lead weights attached to them.

"Hey Marco." Star was the one who broke the silence.

"Hey."

"How you doing?"

"Good. You?"

"Tired."

"Yeah. Me to."

"So… Hey – is it alright if we talk?" Star asked.

"Sure, I was actually going to talk, heh." Marco stood up straight in his seat and moved his chair so he was facing her.

"Cool." Star said, looking up. "Just wanted your thoughts."

"With all that's happened?"

"Well that and Oskar, the date… so yeah, all that's happened." Star trailed off, but found her thread again. "Just – did you think that Oskar was _having fun?_ Was I the only one who thought that Oskar didn't really talk all that much?" She asked, leaning over.

Marco replayed the date in his head. True. Oskar didn't talk much, Janna and Tom seemed to just suck up all the oxygen in the room… but the times he did speak he had nothing but good things to say, kind of came off as like a happy puppy in his opinion.

"I think Oskar was having fun. He's a pretty easy going guy." Marco decided.

"You think so?" Star questioned.

"Oh completely. Star you're a fun person to be around." Marco insisted, and it was the truth.

"You think him and I…?" Star trailed off and gave Marco a _look_

"I'd say so." Marco nodded, thinking about it. There was nothing that gave him any indication otherwise. Star was a catch. He legitimately couldn't see anything that would give Oskar pause.

" _Heh. Cool."_ Star gave a shaky chuckle. " _Oskar… Butterfly."_

 _"Ha._ What about Star _Greeson?"_

"What?"

"On Earth the girl takes the guy's last name."

"No way. Oskar would take my last name. I'm royalty… and what do you mean the girl takes the guy's last name _Mr. Marco Lyn Thomas?"_

"I was like ten when I did that."

" _Yeah. Okay."_ Star mocked, and Marco laughed.

"Alright, fine, got me." Marco said. "But Star – don't worry about Oskar alright? You're an amazing girl and he's lucky to have you and I'm sure you both will be happy."

" _Thanks."_ Star said. "I just hope we're half as nice as you and Jackie Lyn."

"Oh yeah?" Marco felt his cheeks heat up. Didn't think it was _that_ good.

"Oh Marco you two are just so… _perfect_ for each other." Star said, and Marco detected just the slightest hitch in her words. "Like. It's sickening just how well you go together."

"Well – I don't know about that."

"Its true. You're very lucky." Star was the one to insist now.

"Still on for midnight suggaritos?" Marco said. Star snorted.

"You hate suggartios."

"Yeah – but I'll survive."

They both shared a chuckle at that and settled into a silence that was much more comfortable. Star was slouching, hand clasped and resting on her stomach. Marco kicked up his foot and rested it on his knee. It wasn't long though until Star stirred again.

"Hey Marco… what did you think about the whole Blood Lovers thing?" She asked.

"Blood Lovers? Not sure about it honestly." Marco said.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. It just sounds odd. What do you think?" Marco said, he was curious himself to hear what Star's perspective was.

"Oh –" Star paused. "I think you know how I am about that kind of stuff. Like to be in charge of myself, y'know?" Marco hummed. Pretty much what he expected out of her.

"I get it… And I wouldn't worry." He reassured.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Cause like – It just doesn't really make sense. If we really didn't have a choice, why didn't we just fall in love right then and there?" Marco explained his reasoning. Star stayed silent.

"No… I guess you're right. Hadn't considered that." She said subdued. Marco looked over at her to see her lost in thought.

"What, _you got something to tell me Star?"_ Marco teased, and Star whipped her head at him, mouth hanging open. Marco laughed and she clamped her mouth shut.

"No. No, _not at all_." She said. "It's just that – look – I was worried about Oskar not talking and I didn't know if he was having fun or not, so when they started talking about the whole blood lovers stuff… I thought… well…" She trailed off, idly twirling her hair. That was all that Marco needed. He understood the point.

"That the blood lovers thing was the reason why?" Marco felt his chest wrench, poor thing.

" _Mhmmmmm…"_

"You were worried that it's not going to work out?"

"Well – Yes." Star gave a low laugh. "Cause… well, _you know me…_ messing up left and right…"

"Hey now." Marco leaned forward, looking at her. That just sounded odd coming out of her mouth.

"I'm just being honest Marco. I know I'm a screw up."

"No you're not. You're fine." Marco batted that away. He was the only one allowed to be self-deprecating here. "It's _going_ to work. Okay?" He stated. As far as he could see there was no reason why it wouldn't.

"Promise?"

"Promise." Marco said with as much certainty as he could muster.

"Alright… _yey."_ Star said in a small voice. They settled back into a silence, but it wasn't long until Star shivered. "Is it just me or is it really cold in here?" She asked. He hadn't been paying attention, but now that she mentioned it, it was kind of chilly in the cave. Marco found himself drawn to the fire pit that the chairs were circled around.

"I could make a fire?" He suggested. He's been on dozens of camping trips, all he need were a few good twigs to rub together and some wood, if they had a fire pit they had to have firewood somewhere.

" _Dooo_ it." Star moaned like a ghost and Marco hopped up out of his seat, scanning the room. He didn't have to look too long as he found a metal rack, rusted over, but piled high with wood logs, split and ready to go with kindling in a metal cylinder welded onto it, also coming with a few pieces of flint. Perfect.

Star was lying on the chair, eyes closed as Marco worked in the fire pit. Fires needed to be built up slowly, so he first placed the kindling down and readied the flint, cracking them together to produce a spark. He's done this many times before and knew what to do, so it didn't take too much until he had a tiny little flame flickering. He rushed over to get more kindling and began to add it, methodically growing the flame, until he felt comfortable throwing on the first log. The rest was pretty easy going from there, just had to give the fire enough air to breath and soon he had a healthy fire crackling. Star had sat up sometime ago and leaned into it, hands up.

"You think you could teach me how to do that?" She said.

"Sure!" Marco exclaimed. " _All in the technique._ Can't let the fire grow too large too quickly. You got to start small with some dry, easily combustible fuel." He explained, the flame popped, quite loudly.

"What does that mean?" Star asked, pointing at the flame

"Oh it's just some sap." Marco waved away, not surprised. The flame sputtered violently.

" _Ohh_ what's it doing now?"

"Probably just a small breeze or some hot air it's making." Marco said. The flame grew completely still, like a candle.

"What's that?" Star asked, puzzled. Marco cocked an eyebrow at the flame. He's never seen that before on a campfire.

" _Uh…"_ Marco murmured, he had no idea what it was doing… Was it the wood they were burning or something? The flame hissed suddenly, sputtering out, the ground surrounding the half-burned logs glowing red.

"… Marco, I don't think fire is meant to do that." Star said.

"Um. –" Marco hummed, leaning towards the pit to get a better look. Maybe he had smothered the flame too much? Happened from time to time, except, well, he's done this so many times he's usually pretty good about it. "Hold on, Maybe its –" Marco said, but didn't get that far because the fire _came back…_

… Except the fire was now a towering column inferno that screamed with hot air and the murmurs of the damned, blasting off and slamming into the roof alighting the whole cave in angry red hue.

" _AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"_ Star had thrown herself backwards off of the chair and was yelling a high C.

" _AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"_ Marco was yelling in perfect harmony.

" _MARCO! WHAT DO WE DO!?"_ Star screamed, scrambling as far away as possible. Marco had fallen unto his back, heart iced over when the fire spouted off. His legs jerked him back, inch by inch, the heat was _intense_ and the light from the fire hurt his eyes… yet he didn't feel any heat. The column jerked suddenly, back and forth. It was hard to see, but Marco could swear he saw a _hand_ poke through suddenly, along with another. The hands grasped at the flames, and _pulled them apart_ to reveal a familiar face.

"… _J-Janna?"_ Marco stammered, incredulous. Framed against roaring fire, was Janna's head, completely emotionless, staring at him with glazed over eyes.

"Hey." She said.

" _WAIT DID YOU SAY JANNA?"_ Star yelled, but Marco was just too flabbergasted to say anything else. Marco watched as Janna pulled her head into the fire, and _walked_ through the fiery sheet, still in her heels and dress.

"Janna?" Marco repeated.

"That's me." She droned, walking right past Marco and slumped into one of the chairs.

"JANNA! OH MY GOSH!" Star screeched, she scrambled to her feet and rushed over to her. Janna gave no indication she noticed Star.

" _… Star? Star!"_ Marco heard another voice echoing from the fire. He turned just in time to see Tom run out of the fire and past him. "There you are!" He exclaimed. "Are you okay?"

"Tom?" Star whirled from Janna to Tom.

"Are you okay?" He repeated.

"Uh. Yeah." Star said.

"Aw _man! Walking through Fire dude!"_ Oskar jumped out, a huge grin on his face and hair wild. "Hey little dude!" Oskar waved at Marco, who gave a, absent-minded wave back. Oskar walked over to the trio, embroiled in a conversation that Marco couldn't really parse through at the moment.

Marco watched as an arm, this one tan and thin, reached through the fire, gently waving around before the shoulder appeared and finally the head. It was Jackie, gently working herself through the fire, unsure about it until she was completely out.

"Wow… that was kind of _wild."_ She murmured.

"Jackie!" Marco found his voice and sprang to his feet. Jackie, startled, turned to face him, breaking out into a glad smile.

" _Marco!"_ She ran to him and enveloped him in a hug. "Thank goodness you're alright…"

Marco returned the hug after a second of fumbling. He didn't even know what to think right now. He had absolutely no idea what was going on, so many questions, but it was all being overwhelmed by a shot of pure relief, they were here. His friends were here. Didn't care how they got here, just that they were here. They parted slightly so that they could see each other.

"Glad to see your okay to." Marco returned. "What happened?"

"I don't know. One minute I swallowed some fish, the next thing I know I'm asleep." Jackie explained, "When we woke up, you and Star were gone… What happened to _you?"_ She asked, eyes wide.

"Heh… um, long story…" Marco offered. "But I'm just so glad to see you."

"Me too – Hey." She said, leaning in and giving him a peck on the lips. "Don't scare me like that."

"Uhm." Marco's eyebrows shot up. He wasn't expecting that. "Won't do it again." He said, shaking his head. "So not that I think it's important. But how did you get here? How did you know where we were?"

"You can thank me for that." Janna called out, terse. "Lucky I had a strand of your hair for _Thomas_ here." She shifted his eyes towards Tom, who was doting on Star despite her protests. At the sound of his name though, Tom broke away.

"Hm? Oh yeah. Yeah." He said. "Was nothing really. Just a short little demon ritual to find you. Janna has a whole band of your hair by the way Marco." Tom said.

"You know. I'm not surprised by that." Marco rolled his eyes. Of course that was annoying, creepy, whatever you want to call it. But if its what found them he really couldn't get up in arms about it.

"So – Uh." Tom started. "What'd you two… do? What happened?" He asked, pointing at them both. Marco heard Janna puff out a breath, annoyed.

"Yeah – Where are we even?" Jackie said as well.

" _Wow_ is anyone else seeing these lamps up above?" Oskar was looking up, mouth open.

"Well it's kind of funny actually… It's like – like really weird to I guess… Um, Marco do you think you could tell? I'm really bad with stories." Star mumbled. All eyes turned to Marco and he found himself the center of attention. He stuffed his hands in his hoodie packets and heaved a sigh, flapping his lips.

"Sure, I guess everyone sit down. It's a lot."

* * *

They had all gathered around and sat down in the chairs before Marco delved into what happened. He told them about the conversation with the captain and the appearance of another ship, Lord Salisbury. He recounted the story of _Bolero_ the best he could. When he got to the beach, Star felt comfortable enough to take over and talk about how she had fought them handily and the ensuing argument they had. He summarized their trek through the jungle and pointed out how this was a safe house for them, lamps and all to Oskar's joy.

They had all listened to the story neutral enough. But Marco could plainly see a change come over them when he started to talk about the _Blood Lovers_ , not even the idea of a treasure really interested them _._ Jackie had leaned forward, frowning. Tom had his hands together, addressing him with a pensive stare. Janna, whom had situated herself sideways on the chair she was on, lulled her head towards him, and back at Tom. When he finally finished, Janna was the first to speak at Tom.

 _"Hah."_ She simply said, and Tom snapped his three eyes to her, angry.

"Ridiculous." He returned.

"Blood Lovers." Jackie who was talking quietly took Marco's attention. "Marco… Are you two… like, _together_ or something?"

"No they are not." Tom said before Marco could say anything. "It doesn't make sense."

" _Divorce incoming."_ Janna mumbled.

"Janna…" Marco groaned, Janna's been acting weird... more so then usual. "No. We aren't anything Jackie." He tried to calm her down. "Don't worry."

"Well – I mean, what are even Blood Lovers? What's the Blood Moon?" Jackie said.

"That… well, it happened months ago." Marco explained, until his eyes rested on Tom. "Y'know. Actually Tom could explain it better than me."

"There's no way you're blood lovers with Star." Tom grumbled. "I mean, you two didn't _immediately_ get together after the dance."

"Hey Tom." Janna piped up. " _Imagine Star and Marco giving eachother big sloppy smooches. Cause their blood lovers and all."_

"They aren't blood lovers!" Tom snapped.

" _Hard-core Peruvian style smooching."_ She needled.

"Tom what do you know about the Blood Moon?" Jackie asked him in kind of a standoffish way, and Tom cocked his head towards her.

"The blood moon's just a thing we have in the underworld." Tom began. "If you dance under the light with a partner. There's a 'chance', the blood moon chooses your soul and your partner's soul to bind them together for all eternity." He said. Jackie's face was completely blank.

" _Really?"_ She said.

"Yeah…" Marco picked it up. "Jerk face over here wanted to dance with Star under the light because of that, but I was there to sort of… stop that." He came up to a brick wall.

"… So wait." Jackie said, looking at Marco and Star. "Are your souls… intertwined now?"

"No. They're not." Tom cut in.

" _Yeah keep lying to yourself."_ Janna murmured.

"I mean – Jackie, I'm not putting much stock in it." Marco ignored them both. "You know me. You know I wouldn't mess with you."

"I know." Jackie nodded slowly.

"Yeah Jackie, you know Marco wouldn't hurt you like that." Star added. "… And well, you know I wouldn't _hurt_ _you_ like that, Oskar…" She mulled to her date, whom was busy losing his mind over the lamps on the ceiling again.

"You _shouldn't_ put any stock in it. Because it's not true." Tom said, and well, Marco didn't really have anything to say to that. It was a dead horse he wanted to leave alone, so he clamped up. "… And what's this about _cooperating with pirates?"_ Tom said, frustrated. "Really?"

"Tom it's not like we had much of a choice." Marco tried to say.

"Stupid." Tom cut him off. "You shouldn't have done that."

"Well – What do you think we should have done?"

"Fight."

"We were _not_ fighting when Star didn't have her _wand."_ Marco stressed. Tom regarded him with a glare.

"Well. Things have changed then. We are fighting now. Unacceptable for Star not to have her Wand." Tom stated stiffly.

" _Uhhh what?"_ Star said.

"Tom… That's not going to work." Marco said. All it was going to accomplish was Tom getting hacked to pieces… probably not as permanent for a demon, but he didn't think anyone wanted to be dismembered.

"Yes it will. Because _unlike you._ I am actually competent _. Darned prince of the underworld for blood's sakes."_ He muttered, galling Marco

"Oh quiet Tom." Star mussed.

"Whatever. If Marco doesn't want to help fight. That's on him… Star, I will wait outside _because I know you want to fight at least._ " Tom stood up roughly, face breaking out into a full on storm and he stomped out. Marco, and the rest of the group watched him go. When he was gone for long enough, Star groaned, pressing her hands into her face.

"Oskar. I am _so sorry_ about all this…" She said.

"Ah, it's okay." Oskar dismissed it. "All good… I mean this place is pretty awesome, right?"

"Yeah… The lamps are _gorgeous."_ Star agreed, and Oskar gasped.

" _Aw man_ Yeah!" Oskar exclaimed. Marco watched the exchange, a cheeky thought occurring to him, something to help after that bit of awkwardness.

"You know, there's lots of cools things around here." Marco said, " _Why don't you show him, Star?"_

"Show him – I don't know anything here?" Star questioned and Marco pushed the air a few times before realization hit Star like a thunderbolt.

"Oh. Yeah, there is a bunch of cool stuff… _come with me, Oskar."_ Star stumbled a bit, grabbing Oskar by the arm and pulling him away to a different part of the cavern. Marco was left with Jackie, and Janna who was currently looking off into space.

"Never a dull moment with you, Marco." Jackie commented.

" _Heh…_ yeah. I'm sorry." Marco apologized

"Don't be sorry." Jackie laughed. "It's _fun."_ She said, before walking away and settling into a chair right next to Janna. Janna stared at her before sighing.

" _Jackie. Leave me."_ She said.

"Nope." Jackie said. "I'm here for you."

Marco watched the two in curiosity. He had noticed that Janna was acting out of sorts.

"What's up with you? Better yet, what's eating Tom?" Marco asked Janna. She gave him a half-lidded stare.

"That stupid demon is what's up with me." She said, adjusting herself so that she was sitting down, hunched over. " _Do all this work and for what? Nothing…"_ She muttered, staring at her painted nails and dress. "I mean, I don't even like heels."

"Tom said some… _bad things_." Jackie said. Marco looked at Jackie, going still.

"I'm sorry?" Marco said in a curt tone. His face was a sheet, but he could feel himself starting to get wound up. From Jackie's tone to how Tom was acting… he didn't like where this was heading.

"The _moron_ lied to me." Janna mumbled in a guttural voice. "Never was about me… _all about Star."_

"Oh. Excuse me?" Marco said, starting to feel anger prick at his fingers. Unbelievable. "What did he say?" He asked, and Janna and Jackie remained quiet, looking at the floor.

"Well – when we woke up. Tom _freaked_." Jackie started. "We all tried to calm him down, but, like…"

"He basically was a big baby." Janna pitched in, shaking her head.

"Yeah." Jackie finished. Marco felt his arm twitch and his fist clench. He felt duped, _again!_

 _"…_ And I was able to get him to stop by throwing water on him. All of our waters." Janna continued, tossing her hand up. "Then he just started _running his mouth."_

"And what did he say?" Marco asked, rooted to the spot. Jackie started to shake her head again with her eyes closed.

"Just that it wasn't really about… _me_." Janna said, beating a fist into her lap. " _Wanted to deck him…"_

"He told her that he was only interested in Star." Jackie added on.

The two girls fell silent after that and Marco looked between them. It felt like tiny little pins had been inserted into his fingers.

"Okay." Marco said sharply. "I'm going to have a chat with Tom." He said. A chat was putting it lightly. He felt like chewing him out honestly. Jackie cocked her head back and Janna gave him a strange look.

"You sure that's a good idea?" Jackie asked.

"I know how to handle him." Marco replied. "I'll be back. Okay?"

" _You should totally slap him."_ Janna suggested, yet hesitated. "… Thanks."

"Don't mention it. I'm sorry Tom said that." Marco said before pivoting away, face burning.

* * *

Marco had to stop himself from stomping his way out of the cave. He was feeling hot and sweat pricked at his brow. He couldn't believe Tom. He felt _humiliated,_ stupid that he believed that Tom was anything but a jerk… and this wasn't the first time this happened either. Now, of course Janna could be annoying at times but those kinds of comments were just out of line in his opinion.

It wasn't long until Marco started down the narrow hallway and could see the mouth of the cave. Tom was loitering outside, with his back to him. As soon as he got within ear shot though, Marco brought himself to bear.

 _"Dude… What is your problem?"_ Marco said, and Tom, startled turned around with a shocked expression on his face.

"What?" He said.

"Don't 'what' me."

"… What?" Tom repeated, with a shrug and Marco stopped just a touch too close.

"Janna told me what you said to her. Liar." Marco said, and Tom's eyes widened and he took a step back.

"… Yes I did." He admitted. "But no, I didn't lie."

"How could you say that to her man? And you _so_ did."

"Well – I was just being honest with her." Tom defended. "She wanted to go on a date with me, and I wanted to get close to Star. We both got what we wanted."

"You said that you weren't looking to get back with Star." Marco jabbed a finger at him, and Tom took another step back. This was the way Marco found that worked. Had to come on strong.

"And I'm not! Tom spread his hands out." Marco affixed him with a glare and he felt his arm tense, an impulse to slap him occurred to him.

" _Excuse me."_ Marco rumbled.

"Okay –" Tom held up his hands in a defensive position, "Look, it's true that I'm not trying to get with Star here… Because I get it Marco. _I finally get Star_." He babbled. "She's the kind of girl that you don't 'get' with, that's not how she works. She's the kind of girl that will only be with you if she wants to be…" He paused. "… So all _I_ have to do is show her that I'm a guy that she would _want…_ and well… _we go from there._ " He finished lamely. Marco felt his temperature boil over, and Tom started up again. "Janna is a nice girl, but Marco, I'm just not interested in anyone else okay? She should have known that this was _only_ about Star right from the start. –"

It was then that Marco gave into his impulse and slapped Tom clear across his face, a solid _thock_ noise erupting for an instant followed by a pregnant silence. Tom kept absolutely still, head still turned and Marco stood with his spine stiff, daring him to look him in the eye. He wasn't even sure why he even did that. It just kind of put itself out there and he acted without thinking. He was just so… mad at him. He wormed his way into the double date by being pedantic, and his _reasoning_ for why _,_ if you could even call it that, was complete bunk. He hadn't changed _one bit._

"You do realize." Tom spoke, emotionless. " _That I could kill you._ Right?" He turned, one eye was normal, but the other was glowing white. " _Peel your skin off like a banana."_ The air around them became dry and hot, Marco could feel the tips of his arm hair start to singe and tingle. It was scary, to be sure, he was scared but any kind of fear Marco was having right now was being eclipsed by a slowly welling up rage of his own.

Just that – he _hated_ being lied to. He hated being led on, it happened way too much with him in the past. He had a few choice words for Tom, burning in his throat and starting to rise up… He's never felt like this before, but goodness, if anyone needed this, Tom did.

"Tom. I can't believe you." Marco verbally slapped him, and Tom's sneer deepened.

"I fail to see –"

" _Listen. To me_." Marco cut him off and loaded so much anger into the words that Tom receded, just a little bit. "You are being ridiculous, and you haven't changed _at all!"_ Marco launched at him. That got Tom's attention.

"I have-"

"No you have not!" Marco slammed him down. "You cannot _engineer_ your way back with Star. You just can't. _Ship's sailed man!_ And now you've treated Janna like _garbage!"_

"Janna understood what she was getting into." Tom still remained obstinate.

"Janna did so much for you." Marco was right on his heels. "She came to a pirate themed restaurant in a dress for goodness sakes, and if you know Janna. She _never_ does that."

"So what?"

"So!" Marco parroted back. "So you just ignore all the _work_ she put into giving you something special? If this is how you treat someone who is trying so hard for you then yes! You haven't changed! Honestly I don't think you understand what you got into." It was then that Marco could see the first crack on Tom.

"I have changed." He pushed.

"You've proven otherwise, and I was _dumb_ enough to believe it. We were all dumb enough."

"Stop it."

"Whatever man." Marco could feel his steam start to let up. "When we get out of this you can take your bunny back. I don't even want it."

"Well I expect it. Because I went through a whole dinner without blowing up _once_ not once." Tom was eager to make a point.

"This isn't about your anger dude." Marco wasn't letting him have anything and Tom looked at him, eyes wide. "Good for you with your anger, but your anger at the end of the day is just a small part of you." Marco said. "You still are being a manipulative jerk, and now you've hurt Star _and_ Janna." Marco railed, and he could see that he was having an affect on Tom. The thing about him was that he was a guy who could dish it, but he couldn't take it as easily. Tom was openly frowning now.

"I'm not like that…" Tom said.

"Well Tom. Coulda fooled me." Marco said, his steam starting to dwindle. It was obvious at this point that he had shaken him. "You're so focused on Star that you can't see anyone else, even if they're right next to you. You didn't even give Janna a chance."

"I did."

"I don't think you did." Marco said. "Now I'm not even sure if you'd even _have_ a chance with Janna anymore." At that Tom, looked at him bewildered. Marco waited for him to say something, anything, but nothing came out. Tom had all but crumpled into himself, looking around unsure. It was so easy to yell at him before but watching him now, Marco couldn't muster the same kind of anger he had. Tom just didn't look like he could take anymore… "I'll get you your bunny when this is done." Marco said. He didn't deserve it, but he didn't want to deal with this anymore. He needed some time _away._ Tom didn't even acknowledge what he said. They both stood there, the silence stretching thin between them. Marco was about to just leave him to it, until he started hearing a voice.

" _Marco. Marco. Marco. Marco. Marco. Marco."_ A tiny voice, barely above a whisper starting to say, Marco had a tough time placing where it was coming from, but eventually he did pinpoint it coming from the cave. Tom also perked up slightly. " _Marco. Marco. Marco! Marco! Marco! Marco!"_ the voice grew louder, and suddenly, Star burst out of the cave, beside herself.

" _Star…?"_

"Star?" Both he and Tom said at once. Star was outright sprinting towards them, face in a panic. She ran right up to them, and blew right past them, Star speaking so quick that Marco almost didn't pick It up.

" _Someone's using my wand. If anyone but me uses it the universe will destroy itself. I can't cooperate anymore. I'm so so so so so sorry but I need to go right now. Byeeeeeeee!"_

Star disappeared into the brush, and Marco and Tom looked after her, speechless. They turned to each other, speechless.

" _Hey!"_ They heard Janna bark at them, running out of the cave with Jackie and Oskar in tow. "She's not stopping you two!"

At Janna's voice, Marco felt his feet again. He tore off into the foliage with the rest of the gang in tow.

* * *

For a few moments, Marco felt nothing but a black terror over his heart. Star had gotten ahead of them, and he couldn't see her. Him and everyone else were just blindly running through the jungle… but thankfully they did catch sight of Star's orange dress. He had almost stumbled in relief when he did.

Marco wanted to call out to her, tell her to stop, that she was making a mistake but it was all but impossible she was running so fast that Marco had to save every single breath for the all out sprint he was going in.

Star moved like water through the trees, gracefully hopping over branches seamlessly transferring her momentum using the trunks of the trees to keep her speed, and Marco could hardly keep up, much less everyone else… wait, wasn't Janna wearing heels… ?

They ran and ran until Marco felt like his lungs were going to explode. There was one particularly dense patch of foliage that Star melted into with a rustle and Marco had to sort of skid to a halt to push through. When he did though, he found himself coming to a complete halt… because there was nowhere else to run. They were on _cliff_ overlooking a pretty sizable depression in the ground. Star had ran all the way up to the cliff's edge, one foot resting precariously on the very tip of the rock, looking outwards.

 _"Star…"_ Marco gasped. " _W-Wait…"_

"It's there." She simply said, pointing down. "They have it."

Marco joined her and looked down. He saw what looked to be a _camp_ of sorts. Small, rectangular red tents bolted to the ground with figures in red pompadours and glistening white plated armor and silver spears milled about. They were well hidden up above, so they were able to watch the coming and going easily.

"W-Whose that?" Marco gulped in air, Star's was glaring.

" _Salisbury."_ She spat. "What in the world is he doing with _my wand?"_

"Wait- really? I Thought the pirates were going to deal with them." Marco said, and Star shrugged.

"Must have failed." Star said, and Marco gulped at the implications of that.

"Yikes."

"Yeah…" Star said.

"Well – is there any chance we can talk to Salisbury?" Marco asked. He really didn't like how those spears looked. Monsters were one thing, but attacking Mewmans was another thing entirely. Star shook her head.

"Salisbury hates my family ever since my dad won my mom's hand over him." She explained. "No way are we going to be talking with _them."_

Marco sighed, well that didn't help.

"So we gotta fight?"

"… I'm not sure." Star didn't sound happy about it. "He has my wand, and there's a lot of people down there…" She considered.

"What are we going to do?"

"Well…" Star considered. "I'm going to have to think about this. _Come up with a plan."_

"Anything I can do?"

"No. Not really." Star said, "Unless you know something about tactical warfare like I do."

"Uh – No."

"Then… _shoo."_ Star mumbled, and Marco was more than happy to oblige, walking away from the cliff's edge and back towards the jungle. He was happy to see that Jackie, Janna, Tom, and Oskar had made it, bursting through the brush. Tom was gently floating with jets of fire under his feet; he was holding Janna who was gently kicking her feet, heels and all. Neither of them looked happy about it. He laid her down and took a few steps back, gravitating towards Oskar.

"Hey Marco… so what's going on?" Jackie asked.

"Star's making a plan." Marco said. Jackie frowned

"What kind of plan?"

"I am not sure." Marco admitted.

"Alright… but what's going on Marco. Star just went nuts down in the cave, I didn't hear a word she said." Janna sounded off.

"Someone's using her wand… That's kind of a big deal." Marco explained. "Like – way mega big deal."

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Jackie said.

"I don't think there's a whole lot we can do." Marco shrugged. He wasn't all sure himself what was going to happen… nothing to do except wait.

"Are we gonna _fight?"_ Janna asked, hushed.

"No… I don't think so, there's soldiers with spears down there." Marco pointed.

" _Soldiers?"_ It was obviously from Jackie's tone that she didn't like the sound of that.

"Again. Jackie, we're not going to fight." Marco tried to smooth things over.

"Still… is whatever this plan involving you?" She asked, pointedly.

"It might." Marco didn't want to sugar coat it. "But we also happen to have a war princess and the prince of the underworld… I think we can make something work here."

"Well I don't like it." Jackie declared.

"I'm sorry." Marco apologized, but he wasn't sure what else to say. Star had sprinted off here and like it or not, here they were. If Star needed him, he wasn't going to say no.

An uncomfortable silence crept up on them. They were here, but they couldn't do anything at the moment, and Star was obviously out of sorts.

"Hey." Janna said suddenly. "So… did you talk to Tom?"

"I did." Marco said, keeping tight lipped. "I don't think you'll have to worry about him."

" _Did you swear at him?"_

"No."

"Ah. You should have."

"I don't do that Janna, but I think I got my point across." Marco murmured, curious, he looked over at Tom and Oskar. They weren't talking, Oskar had his head skyward, mouth open at the sky while Tom was busy staring into the dirt, not looking good. Although when Marco looked back at Oskar, the conversation he had with Star mushroomed up in his head. He really didn't have a clue with how Oskar's feelings about all this were… Heck, he's hardly even had a conversation with him… Then again, its not like Oskar talked all that much tonight at all. Marco had to admit, he was curious if Oskar's opinion on Star was…

"Hey. Is it alright if I go talk with Oskar?" Marco asked the two girls. They paused for a moment, but both of time waved him away. "Thanks." He said, walking towards the two boys. As he approached he saw that Oskar's was mouthing numbers.

" _Eighty-seven. Eighyt-eight…"_ He counted.

"Hey Tom… is it alright if I talk with Oskar, _alone?"_ He asked Tom, he didn't give any indication that he heard.

" _Eighty-nine… -_ Ah _maan_ now what's this about _little dude?"_ Oskar hummed, teasing.

"It's nothing. Just – _Star stuff."_ Marco stressed the last words, directing them towards Tom. That got him to raise his head, emptily staring at him.

" _Oh… I'm sorry."_ He mumbled, trudging off. " _Yeah… Yeah I'll just go."_ Tom disappeared behind the foliage and Marco watched the spot he left for a second… if her were being honest he actually kind of felt a little bad now. He didn't think Tom would have taken it _that_ hard. Oskar didn't seem to notice.

"What are you doing?"

"Counting the stars. So bright here man." Oskar said, grinning.

"Oh, well, that's cool." Marco nodded.

"So whats up? What's up?" Oskar broke away from his star counting.

"Nothing. I just wanted to see how you were doing… So how are you doing?"

"Oh I'm good man. This is _soo_ dope. Pirate adventure man!"

"Yeah… I guess." Marco said. In one way he's right. "Hey – Um, Oskar. Mind if I pick your brain?."

"Oh? Pick away little dude."

"So. How do you feel about Star Butterfly?" Marco asked, and Oskar didn't answer right away.

"She's cool. Really nice."

"Yeah?" Marco asked, kind of hoping he could get more out of him, but he remained quiet. "So… I guess-" he was just going to come right out and say it. "Do you _like_ her?"

"Like her?" Oskar paused, mouth open. "Oh yeah, she's cool."

"Like, _like like_ her?"

"… _Ohhh."_ Oskar hummed. "She _likes_ likes me?" He asked Marco. Marco looked at him strangely. Did he really just say that?

"Yeah man. She does." Marco nodded quickly. There was no way. "Did you not know?"

" _Whooooa._ Twist!" Oskar said. "Didn't know man." At that, Marco cocked his head back. He wasn't expecting that. Wasn't expecting that _at all._

"She asked you on a date though."

"Well yeah, but I like to think of dates as more like hang outs, y'know?" Oskar talked, but Marco wasn't really following him.

"... Well Star is considering it like a _date_ date."

" _Oh man…"_ Oskar's smile dropped "Yeah?"

"Yes."

" _whoaaaa"_ Oskar was floored

"Whats wrong?

"Oh nothing. Just wasn't expecting it is all, I mean, girl like _Star_ liking me? Didn't see that one coming." Was all that Oskar said, at that, Marco went quiet. He could feel his cheeks burning. Felt like he let something slip.

"… I'm sorry." He said finally.

"Why ya sorry man?"

"I just feel like I said something I shouldn't." Marco shook his head.

"Oh… it's alright man. Didn't mean to. Gotta happen sooner or later right?" Oskar said. It looked like he was thinking. A pregnant pause came up between them.

"Well – Oskar, I'm sorry..." Marco apologized. "I'm gonna – gonna go over by Jackie and Janna now. Again, I'm sorry."

"Yeah. Yeah, all good little dude." Oskar nodded, speaking with considerably less energy than before. "Thanks for letting me know man. Horrible with the signs, y'know?"

"Yeah… heh… me too." Marco said before slowly stepping away to leave Oskar alone. He walked back to Jackie and Janna. Janna affixed him with a smirk

" _Smooth."_ She said.

"You heard?"

"I was listening. _Did Oskar really not know?"_ Janna asked him barely above a whisper.

"I guess not." Marco said. "I thought it'd be obvious."

"Does Oskar like Star?" Jackie interjected.

"I don't know, he didn't say."

"Oh please. _Of course he does."_ Janna chided. Both Jackie and Marco looked at her.

"What makes you so sure?" Marco asked, Janna affixed a look at him.

"Because Oskar is pretty much a _male Star Butterfly._ They're way too similar."

"Well – I didn't know that. I don't talk to Oskar all that much."

"Trust me Marco. Oskar likes Star." Janna affirmed.

Marco wanted to say something to that, but clammed up when Oskar suddenly walked passed them, towards Star whom had lied down on the cliffs edge on her stomach, feet gently kicking the ground. When he had passed, Janna proded Marco's shoulder. "Look. See? _Going to talk to her right now."_

Marco watched Oskar's movement intensely. A small part of him wasn't sure, but he was inclined to agree to Janna. He really couldn't find a reason why someone wouldn't want to at least give Star a chance and Oskar seemed to be such an easy-going spirit, they would mesh beautifully...

"Huh. Speaking of gross garbage." Janna said, looking past Marco, breaking him from his train of thought. He looked to see where she was watching to see Tom melt back in from the foliage, a blank look on his face; he began to walk towards them. He opened his mouth, as he got close.

"Hey guys… Just so –" He began to say something, but suddenly broke off, a puzzled look washing over him, looking out towards the cliff. "…. Uhm…. _Star?"_

" _Hey Everyone. I have a plan now."_ Star said in a completely dead tone, and Marco felt himself cringe at the sound of it. It sounded like Star, but it sounded _wrong._ Like two swords softly grinding against another, screeching metal. Jackie looked over and instantly brought covered her mouth and gasped. Janna looked and her pupils went to pinpricks.

"Star?" Marco started to say, turning, and instantly felt the words die on his lips.

Star stood there, like strings were holding up her spine. She was picking at her fingers, none too gently and her face was completely white. Her dress was in tatters, and her hair was not much better... but all of these things paled in comparison to her _eyes._ " _The plan is that I'm going to… dip down… and go get my wand back..."_

She didn't _have_ eyes anymore. Where her eyes were supposed to be, two oil-black marbles had taken their place, swirling with a striking mixture of purple and green.

" _Star… What…_ happened to you?" Marco breathed, dread paralyzing his limbs. The air started to feel choking around them and the tips of his fingers felt like a sander was gently caressing them.

" _Oh nothing… nothing at all."_ She sighed, the picking intensified. " _Oskar was honest with me."_ She said, before swiveling her head to everyone else. Marco wrenched his head back towards the cliff. He could see Oskar standing a couple paces back, completely frozen with a frown on his face. A horrible thought occurred to him.

" _… And what did Oskar tell you?"_ Marco almost gagged on the words. Star ignored what he said though, standing there in silence for a full minute, her mouth in a grim line.

" _I'm sorry for wasting everyone's time."_ Star spoke, shuddering. " _I am going to go get my wand back now…. And we can all go home."_

 _"_ Star it's okay." Marco shot out. He didn't know exactly what was happening, but he was assuming the worst here.

" _It is. It is okay."_ Star repeated. " _I am fine."_

"No. Star. _It will be alright."_ Marco found his legs again and he took a step forward. "Please… just breath."

" _I am."_

"Please. Calm down." Marco reached out to her, clutching at her arms. Star went completely still, filling his vision with her onyx eyes. Slowly, agonizingly slow, she stopped picking at her fingers and rested her hands on Marco's shoulders.

" _Marco you've been standing a lot today I think you should_ _ **sit. Down."**_ She pressed down on Marco's shoulder and Marco gasped as it felt like a mountain was bearing down on him, way stronger than he ever thought possible.

He went crashing to the ground, right on his butt and pain shot up his back.

"Marco!" Jackie was at his side in an instant.

"Crap." Janna murmured, joining him on his other side.

" _ **Okay… Okay… I am okay. I am fine. This is fine. This is fine. This is fine. This is fine. This is fine. This is fine. This is fine…"**_ Star muttered again and again and again. Her voice quickly turned into something ugly and dark.

" _Oskar…"_ Marco groaned, looking to Oskar. " _What did you say to her… ?"_

"I… just told her that I can't put in the _work_ for a relationship right now…"

Oskar responded, looking on in abject terror. " _Dude – I'm sorry –"_

" _ **Oskar was honest with me. I cannot be mad at someone for being honest. Honesty is the best policy. Honesty is what we strive for. One cannot argue with honesty. I must respect honesty. I must be honest with myself…"**_ Star paused, a dark ichor flowing out of her eyes like she was crying.

" _ **Oskar honestly is not interested in me... And I am not interested in Oskar..."**_ Star tolled like a bell, and to everyone's horror, started to _float_ with a dark inky ichor starting to ooze around her, amorphous and wiggling.

"Star…" Marco watched her; his gut feeling like it was stuffed with bad oysters. He didn't know what was going on. _Why_ it was going on.

A rush of hot air blasted over Marco and he saw Tom whip himself in front of Star.

"Star!" He yelled " _Get a hold of yourself!_ " He shouted, jetting himself up to Star, who was now levitating quite a bit off the ground. Star stopped her babbling, frowning at Tom.

The dark inky blackness surrounding her started to coalesce and define itself into a tapered band, not unlike a tentacle. It twitched over Tom's head.

" _ **Honestly Tom."**_ She said, the tentacle readying itself like an axe. " _ **I want you to drop dead."**_ She commanded… and what happened next Marco will never forget.

The tentacle came down; a blur of darkness and Marco heard a wooden crunchas it connected with Tom's neck.

Jackie, Janna, and Marco with faces white as sheets watched as Tom's head flew clean off his body, a ghostly green mist expelling out of it and landing right in front of them. At that, Star floated away, up and up before finally cresting the cliff and disappearing below. Marco hardly registered her leaving though… Tom's body fell and hit the ground a few feet away from them, much to their horror.

All four of them gawked at Tom's head… and Tom gawked at them, just as surprised as they were.

"Well…" Tom muttered, annoyed. " _That's what I get for trying…"_

Janna was the first one to break just the smallest of smiles.

" _Hah!"_ She barked, pointing at him.

"Oh right… he's a demon." Marco remembered.

"Oh god, so he's not dead?" Jackie collapsed in relief.

"No… No I'm not… just incapacitated." Tom grumbled. "Could someone please pick me up?"

" _More like decapitated."_ Janna commented, moving towards him.

"No not you."

"Too bad." Janna said, grabbing him.

"Haven't I suffered enough?" Tom rolled his three eyes. "The date gets sidelined, I get chewed out, pirates are waiting in ambush for us, and now _this_ garbage."

Marco was about to say something, but then he fully parsed through his sentence.

"Wait _What Tom?"_ Marco said, whirling around.

" _Oi! Now he just had to go and ruin it._ –" A bush starting talking

"Sneed for barnacles sakes! Ye be the only one who just ruined it!" a trunk chastised the bush

"Oi that's rich. I did no such thing. He be the one who be spoiling the surprise now. Really Snod, ye really need to be cleaning out yer ears every night. I keep trying to tell ya."

" _Barnacle Brain!_ Alright – that's it, _now! everyone!"_ It all happened in an instant. Snod and Sneed burst out of the foliage, along with a dozen other members of their crew and made a beeline for Marco, Jackie, Janna, and Oskar.

Marco barely had anytime to think before he was tackled and pinned to the ground by Sneed.

"Oi, sorry bout this luv." Sneed apologized, weighing on him. Marco couldn't say anything on account of he was eating dirt and the air had been forced out of his lungs.

He had absolutely no idea what to make of anything at the moment. Just that he was scared and lost. Star had just turned into… whatever that thing was. He just saw a real live beheadment, and now he was currently under a sweaty pirate. It took some effort, but he was able to turn his head so that he could see the ground level. He saw that everyone else was in a similar situation to him, pinned down… all except for Tom whom had been cast off into the dirt, face down complaining about… something muffled.

"Sneed…" Marco had dozens of questions and picked one at random. "Just… where in the world were you?"

"Oi that's rich – I should be asking ye that question there luv. Imagine me surprise when I come around and ye ain't there." Sneed said in an indignant tone.

"We had no choice…" Marco struggled. "Someone was using Star's wand… why does Salisbury have Star's wand?"

Sneed wrinkled his nose in distaste. "That right proper _cod-fish_ didn't respect a right proper _parlay_ he didn't and made off with it. Lucky lad ye are that Waltz had the foresight to make yeself scarce…"

"Okay… but now what are you doing here?"

"Ambushing. Course… we were gonna ambush Salisbury. Got the captain down there now, lying in wait to give a signal for us… Course we weren't expecting _all that_ now…" Sneed admitted, "I take it we _won't_ be getting tangled up with Salisbury. Not necessary…"

Sneed stood up, holding Marco in a bear hug. He felt like a useless rag doll, but he didn't resist.

"… Why isn't it necessary?"

"Cause lad." Sneed began walking to the cliffs edge, so that they could get a good look down below. " _Ye ain't want to get in front of a Butterfly's warpath._

* * *

Marco, and the rest of the group settled on the cliff's edge, standing in the open. It was totally silent among them as everyone was staring intently at the slowly descending dark mass of Star Butterfly… an unnatural green glow pulsated out from her orbit, making it quite easy to see everything against the night sky and stars.

The soliders down below noticed star right away. Many of them pointing and yelling at her, scrambling to run away from her as she landed in a small open space among the tents.

For a few moments, it was completely silent down there. Star stood with each soldier a couple paces away from her. Six of them had formed a half circle, spears pointing towards her and if Marco really strained his ears, he could hear the clinking of the armor… then, Star spoke and even from this distance, Marco could hear her clear as day.

" **Give me my wand."** She commanded.

There was a shuffle amongst the soldiers, and looking above Star, Marco could see a larger tent's flap open. A short, stout man hobbled out. He had a rich red cloak trimed with a bushy white fur speckled in black, yet the train on it was entirely too long as it dragged on the ground a good three feet behind him. His head was round and bald like a cue ball save for some dark red hair surrounding his ears, with a tiny little crown on his head. He wore black leather boots with burgundy pantaloons and wielded a clunky looking white saber that was about half his width in size, and in the other, Marco saw Star's wand. It still looked like Star's usual wand, pink and bulky, but it had angry red cracks all over it, like it was trying to turn. The short man yelled in a shrill tone, like a screeching trumpet, and by the sound of it, Marco had the keenest of inclinations that that's what his voice was normally like…

" _I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!"_ He dallied. "I knew it from the moment I saw this wand that I'd have the pleasure of consorting with a _Butterfly!"_

" **Either surrender my wand or face me Salisbury."** Star bellowed like an army was coming out of her mouth.

"No! No I shan't take the first option! Not when I have the _key to the universe!"_ Salisbury furiously whipped the wand about, sparks dripping off it. "I suggest _you_ be a good girl and surrender yourself!"

" **I refuse to bow to you. I refuse to bow to anyone. I refuse to bow."**

"Then suit yourself!" Salisbury cackled. "First you! Then I find that little _partner_ of yours! Then the treasure is _mine!_ _Cleaning out the Butterflies! Cleaning out the Butterflies!"_ Salisbury danced.

With his last words, Marco raised an eyebrow… an odd thought occurred to him…. heck if he didn't know any better…

" _That Cod-fish…"_ Sneed cursed.

"… Sneed, what does he mean by 'cleaning out the Butterflies?" Marco asked.

"Sneed don't –" Snod scrambled to speak, but Sneed was already talking.

" - Well Bolero was a _Butterfly_ he was… _Bolero Butterfly."_ Sneed said.

" _W-What!"_ Marco exclaimed.

"Oh what? Didn't ye know now? Didn't anyone mention this?" Sneed asked. Snod groaned.

"We didn't mention it Sneed. Shut up before ye hurt yerself." Snod said quickly, holding fast to Jackie.

" _Ouf –_ we didn't now? Next ye gonna tell me no one told him we're _Bolero's crew…_ " Sneed said, a moment of silence following until Snod gave a heavy sigh.

" _Didn't tell him that either, ye ninny. Cap'n Waltz wanted us to be real quiet like with those facts…"_ Snod muttered. " _Ye Scally-wag."_

"Oi!" Sneed's face paled, "No one tells me these things!"

" _That's cause ye had yer hand stuck in a pufferfish! Ye missed the meeting! Didn't ye read our meeting transcript?"_

 _"… No."_

 _"Ye even worse than a ninny!"_ Snod cursed. " _Shut up! Watch the fight!"_

Snod gestured out towards the open air and Sneed clammed up. Marco looked down at the fight to see the soliders preparing themselves, brandishing their spears and starting to tighten the circle around Star. Star, for her part, remained absolutely still. Darkness had settled around her and the tentacle from before wavered dangerously tensed.

"Forward! Get her!" Salisbury screeched his command. Three spearmen moved forward, dropping their spears and taking out small, blackened oak clubs and held them cocked back as they approached. Marco had to admit, he was kind of scared. He didn't know what was going to happen down there. If Star was going to get hurt…

Although, he quickly felt his fears to be unfounded as he watched…

It was only until the first soldier took the first swing did Star move, deftly side-stepping his swing. He transitioned into a wide side-swipe, but Star dodged it by giving a short hop over it. The other two guards had positioned themselves a short few steps away, giving Star very little space to maneuver. Yet, it didn't even seem to matter to Star. The soldier engaging her kept swinging, but every time he caught nothing but air as Star negotiated him within the diameter of a dime. Sometimes she would step out and one of the side guards try, but to no avail. It was... surreal to watch, Marco had never seen Star move so quickly or fluid before, nor wait so long before throwing a punch...

The guard primarily engaging her took another swing, a bit choppier than the rest, but it was like a signal to Star as he watched him stumble, exposing his side to her. Much to Marco's horrific fascination. The tentacle of darkness that had coalesced out of her snapped out, slamming into the the soldier's, launching him out of the group and over his comrades on the borders, landing with a metallic _thud,_ out cold.

Star stomped the ground, the darkness around her thickening in two more spots with two _more_ tentacles blasting out and catching the border soldiers right in the face, cracking them both in the face and _they_ fell to the ground as well.

 _"Merely a sample Butterfly!"_ Salisbury yelled at her, gesturing for more of his men to step forward. There were ten men left, including Salisbury, and this time, five men dropped their spears and brandished their clubs, walking towards Star carefully.

Star must have been running out of patience though, before the soldiers could get close enough to her to start swinging, a whole array of tentacles launched out from her dark cloud and snapping the five soldier's arms and wrenching their clubs out of their hands. A split second later, the tentacles had cracked each soldier in the helmet with their own clubs, a series of _pings_ and _dings_ sounding off as each one got knocked out.

"Agh!" Salisbury screeched. " _Just get her! Use your spears!"_ He gestured to the last four of his men. They readied their spears and charged… right into a tentacle that met them halfway, throwing them back and unto their backs.

" **Give me my wand back Lord Salisbury. You are as alone in this world as am I."** Star said, and Marco felt himself squint at that.

"No I shall not! _Not when I still have this!"_ He raised the wand. " _HAH!"_ He thrust the wand forward at her...

However, Salisbury must not have realized where spells from the wand came from as the _wand's face_ was pointing towards the ground _,_ so the resulting blast came out at the ground. The pushback from the force of the blast made the wand jump _clear out of his hand,_ and flying up into the air. Quick as a whip, a tentacle from Star flew out and caught it.

Star, Salisbury, everyone stood there in silence at what just transpired.

 _"Oi, ye really are a moron."_ A new voice rumbled from the canyon. Captain Waltz stepping out of some brush to the side. Everyone was drawn to him, but Salisbury's face turned red as a beet.

"This isn't over…" He proclaimed, holding his saber. "I am _Lord Salisbury! And one day my line will be the greatest there ever was! Greater than you! Greater than the Butterflies! Greater than anyone!"_ He swung his saber around wildly, but yelped when a tentacle wrapped itself around his waist and then _threw_ him with massive force up into the night sky…

Marco, and the pirates were treated to Salisbury doing a rather nice impression of a wailing shooting star across the Mewnian night sky, landing somewhere off in the jungle with a thundering _clunk._

Marco watched as Waltz moved into the clearing, whistling. His voice was loud and deep enough that he could hear him as well, much easier on the ears from Salisbury's screeching.

 _"Well._ Glad ye took care of 'im now." Waltz rumbled to Star, "Now… we have a treasure to unlock then."

" **No."** Star turned to face him the tentacle that had the wand retracted to deposit it in her hand. " **I have my wand. We will be going home."**

"Aye… ye got yer wand. But… Waltz intoned. "Hard to go home without ye _scissors_ now." He patted the little Star purse that he was still wearing.

 **"I shall be taking those."** Star and the three of her tentacles pointed towards him. Waltz responded by drawing his saber.

"Ye can try."

Captain Waltz crouched in a readied stance and Star's tentacles coiled around her. Marco watched it all, worried.

"Sneed, what is _Waltz doing?"_ He asked.

"Oi. Don't worry luv." Sneed said. "Cap'n would _never_ off one of Bolero's descendents… sides, we need ye for the treasure… as for what he doing… looks like he's gonna fight a _Butterfly…"_ Sneed said in a low voice, obviously excited. Marco looked back down as well, interested for entirely different reasons…

* * *

Waltz started off by edging up to her, much slower than the soldiers. Star drilled him with unblinking black eyes; there were a lot of tentacles surrounding her now, arched back like a whip ready to crack.

Marco couldn't tell what happened next, but perhaps it was that Waltz just got a little too close, setting off one of the tentacles that rushed out to meet him. It was so fast that Marco thought that was going to be it.

However, Waltz's arm twitched and he brought it up, the saber's blade colliding with the tentacle, green sparks arc'd from the contact and the tentacle was beaten back. Star probably wasn't expecting from Marco's perspective as the tentacle retreated back to Star and the rest of them bundled up above her head in a tight ball

Then, Waltz began to side step around Star, slowly swirling closer and closer to her. Star always kept him in front of her, swiveling around with him. No more tentacles rushed out to meet Waltz for a bit, and Waltz was allowed to get within three steps of her.

They stood, staring at each other for a few long agonizing moments… until Star's blank face broke into an angry frown, the ball of darkness above her shuddering and groaning… but that was when Waltz made a move, taking a step into Star's space and thrusting with his saber. Instead of stepping back or to the side, a tentacle hissed out of the ball above Star and slapped Waltz's saber to one side, and another one rushed out for his shoulder, but Waltz proved just as fast, leaning to the side as the tentacle missed him by a hair.

With that initial exchange, It was like someone firing a gun to kick off a race and both began to _fight…_ and Marco never really witnessed anything quite like it before…

Like, He's fought monsters before with Star, but what was happening down below felt heavier in a sense, more formal. With the monsters, it was like a haphazard all out brawl, no rhyme or reason for what was happening, just bodies being thrown at you and you just having to knock them around enough.

Below though, almost felt like a gentlemen's match of chess with each opponent executing a move, the only limiting factor on the response time being their speed. It was mesmerizing to watch...

Both opponents stayed relatively within their space, with Waltz being the aggressor with his strikes. Star was able to keep him at bay with a quick tentacle being thrown out to stop his strikes from getting too close; allowing her to stand still, but the ball of darkness above her shuddered and shook as tentacles were summoned. One tentacle in particular kept close to Star, which held the wand. Every so often, it would act, brandishing the wand and blasting thundering crack of green lightning which Waltz could only avoid with an extreme kind of acrobatics that was surprising coming from such an imposing figure. Although Star never found too many chances to use her wand as Waltz kept an monstrous amount of pressure on her, forcing her to defend with simple tentacles.

It kind of confused Marco at how aggressive Waltz was being because it really looked like any one of his strikes could seriously harm her…

It was almost like the captain was leading Star through a dance. He let his attacks flow together, as one chop was blocked, he was already transitioning into another swing from a different angle and had an absolutely brutal pace, effortlessly stringing together a sequence of strikes that started in the front, continued on the side and ended in the back.

The fought for what felt like an eternity with no side gaining any kind of upper hand. Star kept mostly on the defensive, as Waltz wasn't giving her many opportunities to lash out, as for Waltz, he just kept up the ferocity.

The sphere of darkness hovering over Star began to quiver suddenly and moan, and a deluge of dark tentacles blasted out, viciously swiping at Waltz, and just as quickly, Waltz sprang back and Star launched into an offensive of her own, marching onto him with the tentacles writhing unpredictably lashing at him… the wand whipping forth with concussive blasts that sometimes hit, and sometimes missed.

" _Oi… Lass is getting tired she is."_ Sneed hummed.

"What? How can you tell?" Marco asked. He really wasn't all that scared anymore, just fascinated with what he was seeing.

"Cause that's just the _Butterfly style_ it is…" Sneed explained. "They _always_ let ye tire yerself out. Warm up on ye… Then _sting ya_ as soon as ye fumble… Lucky our captain knows it well…" He hummed. " _Ahhh, tis a joy to watch it is. Star Butterfly is true to her line she is…"_

Marco looked back to the fight, trying to discern what was going on under the new information… and he found that Sneed had a point. The sphere of darkness over Star was pulsating and strained under the weight of the summoned tentacles, and Star found herself nearly chasing Waltz as he tap-danced away, always out of reach.

He couldn't tell what changed though, perhaps the sphere couldn't handle it anymore, or maybe Star really was starting to dwindle, but the sphere dissipated and Star was left with a three dark tentacles, springing out of her back and Star armed them like her own swords making complex swipes and sequences, causing Waltz to block one and squirm out of reach of the second and third.

It was becoming increasingly obvious though that Star just couldn't keep up the pace. She started moving less, her steps not as tight, having to center herself more often than not as she executed sloppy strikes. Although, Waltz didn't exactly press as hard as he once did and Marco truly understood just what exactly he was doing. Still though, he kept Star on her toes, with a quick cheeky swipe here and there to force of a defense that Star was having more and more trouble beating back.

After one particularly brutal clash, Star found herself stumbling, backing up a couple of steps, the tentacles once so imposing, starting to grey and whither like twigs. She planted both feet down on the ground, and even from up there, Marco could see her visibly gasping for breath, her chest heaving… She began throwing herself at Waltz with desperate plays, but Waltz proved to be able to endure… Then. Star's tentacles withered away and she was left there, clutching her wand, shaking.

" _ **I… I will not…"**_ She panted. " _ **Never bow to you…"**_

Star raised her wand, an erratic hiss of green lightning arc'd out and Waltz dove to the side, executing a roll and springing back up. Star realigned her wand and shot out another blast, which Waltz stopped on his saber. " **I will not… do as you say!"**

She raised the wand again, a dangerous spark snapping out which Waltz ducked. " **I… just want to… do what I want…"** She tried casting another spell, but it fizzled and she was left standing there, hiccupping and gasping for breath… she wobbled.

" _Lass_." Waltz breathed hard. " _Lay down."_ He straightened up and lowered his sword. Star stared at him in total silence.

" **I will not lay down… I will fall."** She declared, and like a falling tree, pitched backwards on her feet unto the ground, kicking up a puff of dust and her eyes closed. The darkness surrounding her melted away.

Marco let out a breath he had been holding. It was over…

"Oi. What a spectacle!" Sneed whispered.

"Genuine Butterfly, that was." Snod agreed.

"Wow…" Jackie murmured, "I had no idea Star could fight like that…"

"Totally." Janna agreed. Oskar and Tom was just staring in awe...

Marco looked to his friends, in all honesty, he actually felt kind of relieved…

"Oi Luv." Sneed murmured. "Ye be a little sticky…"

He was also very sweaty right now.

" _OI YOU LOT!"_ Waltz thundered up at them. "I SEE YOU UP THERE!"

"AHOY CAP'N WALTZ EXCELLENT DISPLAY!" Snod bellowed back.

"YE BRING THEM ALL DOWN HERE! WE GOT OURSELVES A TREASURE TO UNLOCK BOYS!"

The group of pirates holding them cheered and jeered and Marco felt himself starting to move downwards.

* * *

They were brought around the bend of the cliff, which revealed a gently slopping path down wards much to Marco's relief. They moved very quickly and by the time they had gotten down to the camp's level, Waltz was waiting for them with his saber now sheathed and Star Butterfly heaped over his shoulder, passed out.

"Right then." He said when they got close enough. "We taken enough time. So we going to do this _now_." He did a one-eighty and started marching forward. The rest of the group followed closely behind him.

Now that Marco was down from the cliff he was able to see that they were actually in a ravine of sorts, with the camp being at the mouth of it. They walked further in, the rocks turning black and becoming treacherous to walk through, considered himself lucky that he was being held through it all.

Eventually, they happened about a grisly landmark. The ravine ended in what looked like a skull's head, carved from the rock. It's mouth blocked by a sheet of gray stone, with Mewnian scratching on it. In it's two sockets were two large square cut rubies that sparkled under the starlight.

They filtered into the open space before the skull rock. In the center, interestingly enough, Marco saw a raised stone dais that held a long thin cylinder stone column that came up to his waist. Waltz was on it's right, and laid Star down, leaning against the stone.

"Alright. Bring the _willow spine_ over on the left side." Waltz instructed and Marco was brought over. Getting close, he could see that the stone's top was smooth with faded writing on it… he couldn't really make it out, but he at least could see that the stone had two square inlets on it. Waltz took Star's arm and gently holding her hand, pressed it softly to the inlet on the right. " _Alright._ Now the willow-spine." He said.

Sneed took his arm and leaned him in, pressing his hand against the cool stone... a few moments of nothing passed. Truth be told, Marco wasn't sure what he was going to expect… but he had to admit, he was curious…

"You're wasting your time. _They aren't blood lovers."_ Tom suddenly spoke.

" _Oh give it a rest Tom…"_ Marco heard Janna.

'I'm just saying –" Tom started to speak, but was cut off. When the raised dais Marco had placed his heads started to glow _red_. A collective cheer resounded out of the pirate group.

Marco had his eyes rooted to the dais… not quite believing what he was seeing. The light from the dais also alighted around the carved words, making it clear to read It was a poem. Only able to read for a just a second before winking out…

 _Bolero The Jilted_

 _A loveless life he so abhorred_

 _His soul became a Lighthouse_

 _To guide Lovers to their shores._

A harrowing crack echoed out, causing Marco to whip his head up towards the skull rock. The gray stone blocking the skull's mouth had cracked away, revealing a cave entrance. Sneed suddenly released him and he dropped with a yelp. Marco heard the rest of his friends yelp as they got released to.

"Alright _willow-spine!_ All we need from ye!" He cheered. "Thanks a bundle!"

"ALRIGHT BOYS!" Waltz addressed "YE ALL KNOW THE DRILL FROM OUR DRY RUNS!" He yelled. A group of pirates approached him, each of them holding a chest against their stomachs. "EACH CHEST YE FILL ONLY TWO-THIRDS OF THE WAY UP! YE CHOOSE ONE, AND I MEAN ONE ANTIQUE FOR THE ROYAL MUESEUM! ANTIQUE CHOICE MUST BE APPROVED WITH TWO-THIRDS MAJORITY OF THE CREW. _now_ …" He paused… and for the first time Marco has seen, actually cracked a smile. "LETS GO!" He yelled and as one the group of pirates stampeded into the skull's mouth hooting and hollering all the way. Sneed and Snod joining them.

Waltz stayed behind for a moment, regarding Marco's group. Waltz caught Marco's eye, and laughed.

"Now what's that face for?" He asked, "I told ye that ye be making the world a richer place now. Didn't I? If ye want to see the treasure chamber _ye welcome to._ Just don't be stealing any of it else I'll skewer ye. Now if _ye don't_ want to see it… here _"_ He lifted the little Star purse he had over his head and threw the bag towards Marco who caught it as it hit his chest. "Ye are free to do what ye want now, fulfilled ye proposition ye did…" Waltz said, and without another word, he turned and walked into the skull rock's mouth.

Marco had absolutely no idea what to say… It truly was over…

"Well shoot." Janna walked, still clutching Tom's head. "I want to see some pirate treasure."

"Janna… can you put my head back on my body?" Tom asked.

"Oh - sure."

Janna walked over to Tom's headless body, which the pirates had brought with and she plopped it on its neck, a ghostly green mist stitching the head back on.

"Thank you Janna – wait you put my head on backwards." He said, the back of his head not where it should be.

" _Yep."_ Was all that Janna said before disappearing into the skull rocks mouth. Marco scrambled over to Jackie, who was sitting down watching it all in stunned silence.

"Janna!" Tom shouted and turned around to run after her. Silently, Oskar shuffled into the skull rock.

Marco found himself alone with Jackie and a still passed out Star Butterfly. Marco scrambled to his feet rushing over to Jackie who was sitting there stunned.

"Hey… are you okay?" He asked, offering an arm.

"Yeah… I guess." She said, "So… you really _are_ blood lovers with Star." She said, she left the implication hang between them and Marco didn't like it… was kind of dangerous actually.

"I… suppose." Marco said slowly, it came as a surprise to him to. "- But Jackie, I'm not really sure it even _means anything_." He said. "I don't really see Star _in that way_ , y'know?"

Jackie regarded him, thinking.

" _Are you sure?"_ She asked pointedly.

"Well. Yeah." Marco nodded. "I mean – I want to _work_ with you... I want this to work between us… and at the end of the day, that's what a relationship really needs... I think." Marco said.

It was a thought that he had been thinking about in the back of his head after the conversations he's had with Oskar and Tom. Both of them either didn't or weren't willing to put in the work a relationship required… and if you didn't work for it… it just never was going to happen… or so he thought at least.

For her part, Jackie giggled, smiling.

"What. You a _guru_ on relationships now?"

"Eh. _Hehe…"_ Marco chuckled, that was rich. "Well – no… It's just been something I've been thinking about."

"Well it's very sweet." Jackie nodded, she stepped into an embrace with him "You're a really sweet guy Marco…" She said in his ear.

"T-Thanks…"

"You also kind of smell."

"I sweat."

"Ah – well, no shame in that then." She broke away and put her hands on her hips looking at the skull rock. "So. Wanna see whats up with this _pirate treasure?"_

"I don't think we have a choice with half of us already in there." Marco shrugged. He took the bag he was holding and threw it over his head to rest on a shoulder. He patted it down and felt the familiar shape of dimensional scissors packed away. "What about Star though?" Marco asked. Star was leaned up against the rock, unconsciously clutching the wand to her chest.

"Oh. Well here, help me with her." Jackie walked over to Star and positioned herself on one side.

"Oh got ya." Marco said and walked into position on Star's other side.

"One. Two. Three. _Up!"_ Jackie counted and they both strained to bring Star up to her feet, supporting her on their shoulders.

Together, they shuffled into the skull rock's mouth and into a narrow passage way with rock walls smoothed over with age.

It wasn't long before they reached the treasure room… and they almost dropped Star when they saw it.

It was like a giant bowl of a room. A thin ledge of rock banded around which they were standing on with the exit behind them. Going off to the left or the right gave multiple pathways down to the dip of the bowl which was utterly and completely _stuffed_ with gold, jewels, crowns, exotic pieces, furs, chalices, goblets, bands, and, rings and any and every kind of valuable thing that Marco had ever seen.

They weren't kidding when they said it was a kingdom's worth of gold

" _Woww…"_ Jackie breathed "… Are you sure you can't get me at least one thing?" She asked.

"Try it and I skewer ye." Waltz made himself heard, surprising them both. He was sitting down, legs over the edge keeping watch. Oskar was also sitting with him to. His crew was busy picking over the giant piles of gold, stuffing their many many chests. Marco could see Janna and Tom among them as well, jumping and diving into the coin pools.

"Sup..." Oskar said, leaning over.

"Oh… sorry. I didn't mean it." Jackie said hurriedly.

" _Ahh_ I know. Don't worry… don't think Boleo would even if ye took a pocketful honestly…" Waltz waved away. "Come. Go ahead and set Star down." He patted the space next to him.

Jackie and Marco laid Star down as gently as they could, and joined Waltz and Oskar on the edge, looking out at the sea of treasure. Tiny holes in the ceiling allowed rays of moonlight to drop down, glittering amongst the gold.

They sat there, contemplating for a while. No one really had much to say. Until the noise of Star stirring brought all their attention behind them.

Marco was the first to turn around, just in time to see Star open her eyes and crane her neck up.

" _Star!"_ Marco was the first to shout, rolling over to sit next to her. Jackie did the same.

" _M-Marco…?"_ Star whispered, groggy. "What… happened?"

"Lots of crazy stuff." Jackie said, and Star propped herself up.

"Where am I?" She asked.

"Ye are in the treasure chamber of Bolero ye be." Waltz rumbled. "Welcome back to the world of the living lass, ye put up a fight befitting yer name."

"… What?" Star looked all around her. "Where is everyone?"

"Well here's me, and Jackie." Marco pointed, notably, Oskar didn't get up from the ledge, opting to keep his distance.. "Oskar is over there, and Janna and Tom are down swimming in the gold coins.

" _Oskar…"_ Star repeated, face dropping into a deep frown.

"Star... What do you remember from back there?" Marco asked concerned. Star slowly turned to him.

"… I remember looking down thinking about what to do." Star recollected. "I was trying to… 'dip down' I think... But then Oskar came up next to me and started talking, told me that he wasn't ready for a relationship… That's all I remember." Star finished, looking at Oskar.

"Star. I'm sorry." Oskar said. Star shakily got to her feet and took a few steps towards him, wringing her hands… she looked like a wreck.

"- I mean, was it something I said? Was it something I did? ..."

"No. Star, I'm just not ready for one right now." Oskar opened his arms. "I'm sorry… I just can't make it _work._ " He apologized

Star stood there, looking helpless and Marco saw tears start to prick at her eyes.

" _Are you sure…?"_ She managed.

"Yeah…" Oskar shook his head. "I still want to be friends though… if that's alright."

Tears started to well up in Star's eyes and she covered them quickly.

" _G-Guess that's fine…_ I'm sorry… so sorry that I'm like this…"

" _Okay._ I can deal with a little _sass._ " Waltz got up quickly. "Can't be dealing with a crier now… Everyone hold on. I got me an _idea."_

Waltz jogged down the lip and into the treasure chamber where he ran right into one of his crew who was holding a chest. Without hesitation, he grabbed it from him, and jogged back. Everyone was watching him as he approached with the chest hooked under his arm.

"Okay. So I wasn't gonna tell ye this, as we prefer our privacy, y'see… but… _eh I think ye need a bright spot."_ He said, holding out the chest to Star who was looking at him strangely. "So every six hundred and sixty seven years, the blood lovers are chosen and with it, Bolero's treasure chamber can be opened… _only once mind ye so we won't bother ye anymore…_ As acting captain of Bolero's crew, it's my job to make sure the treasure both stays _safe_ and is doled out properly to all surviving descendents… bit by bit." Waltz punctuated his speech by opening the chest, glistening with gold and sapphires and pearls, glowing so intensely that Star's face lighted up yellow. Her tears stopped, unsure what to make of it.

" _Star Butterfly._ I present to ye, ye cut of Bolero's treasure. Thank ye for cooperating... a little bit at least." Every single one of their jaws dropped as Waltz deposited the chest into Star's arms. She yelped as the weight made her stumble. That, was _a lot_ of gold…

"… Thank you." Star spoke, looking at her newfound wealth. Marco watched her… her eyes still looked empty.

* * *

There wasn't much more to do shortly thereafter, and Waltz was more than accommodating for them as they all continued their work. Janna and Tom had joined them, intensely curious now that Star was awake, but she just wasn't offering much information… It only took a few moments before everyone wanted to leave. Waltz waved them off before joining his crew.

Marco was glad to finally take the scissors out of the bag, and with the wand as well, there was nothing stopping them now from finally snipping a portal and stepping through it back to earth…

It was nighttime on earth, well past midnight at that point as they stepped back home as a gang. Marco knew a little bit on how to work with the scissors and he chose to deposit them just outside the pirate restaurant _The Salty Barnacle._

Oskar was the first to leave, waving at them. To Marco, he kind of looked like he was eager to leave and he didn't blame him. With what happened tonight, only time could help smooth things over…

Star, without a word, moved off. she blasted off with a bunny blast before anyone could say anything to her, and that killed him. She needed someone to talk to… Although it had to wait because it was quite late, and Jackie was a little uncomfortable with going home alone, so Marco offered to bike her home, which only took about twenty minutes. They were all exhausted so they weren't much for conversation the ride back… Jackie kissed him goodnight when he dropped her off and Marco finally… finally started to bike home…

He groaned, however, when his driveway came into site. Tom's chariot was _parked_ in his driveway. He just wanted this to be over…

He threw his bike on the side of his house, and walked up to his front door, pushing through into the family room. The lights were on, to his surprise, and He saw Janna and Tom waiting on the couch… Janna was lying down, but Tom looked nervous, like he was debating something.

"Hey." Janna said.

"I thought you didn't have my keys anymore." Marco said, walking into the kitchen and grabbing some water and gulping it down.

"I have copies." Janna said.

"Course you do… Should I even ask why you're here?"

"Well –" Tom stuttered, his head had been long sinced fixed and he was properly looking forward now "I just wanted to see if Star was okay… yeah…"

"Yeah." Janna agreed. "But… well, look at the stairs." She pointed.

Marco, who had stopped at the base looked up, and took a step back. There was… a warnicorn currently standing on his stairs outfitted in a black suit, black pants, shades, and an earpiece looking stern at him.

"Sup. No one goes through." He said.

"What?" Marco said.

"I'm guarding man." The warnicorn said.

"I-I can see that."

"So… Now that we can't see Star…" Janna piped up, "We just wanted to make sure _you_ got home…"

"Oh." Marco said, cocking his head. That actually was kind of nice of them.

"But seeing as you are now _here_. I'm gone." Janna stood up and brushed herself off. "It's been horrible Tom." Janna directed at the demon. Tom stood up as well, alarmed. Janna walked to the door, but before she could leave, Tom stepped in front of her.

"Janna – wait." He said.

"Tom. I don't care."

"No… No… please." Tom pleaded. "Look… I've been thinking a lot."

" _Dangerous_ …"

"It's just that – look… I was a jerk tonight." He admitted. "And I want to make it up to you."

"How."

"Well… you still have my bell, right?" Tom asked, and Janna didn't give any indication that she did. "Why don't you come down sometime? I can show you around?" He offered.

Janna stared at him for minutes, as for Marco. He was honestly kind of surprised. He wasn't expecting that coming out of Tom...

"… I'll think about it." Janna pushed back him. "Now _good night."_

Marco and Tom were left looking at each other.

"You really meant that?" Marco asked, Tom sighed.

"Look… you're right dude." Tom said. "Star… is a lot _different_ now. and I don't think me and her… _work anymore."_ He spoke.

"I mean… she cut off your head." Marco said and Tom barked out a laugh.

"Yeah-" he nodded. "Don't think I'm scoring points _with that_ now… just…" Tom paused. "I'm done Marco. I don't want to hurt anyone… you know that right?"

"I know." Marco nodded. "… For what it's worth I'm sorry for yelling at you."

"Hm. Think I needed it…" Tom placed his hand on the doorframe, looking like he wanted to go and Marco took that as his cue.

"Good night Tom."

"Good night Marco."

Tom left, and Marco watched as he entered into his chariot, which got engulfed in flames as he pulled it back to the underworld. Marco turned to go up the stairs, but was stopped by the warnicorn.

"No one goes up." He said.

"I'm going to bed…"

"I don't make the rules man, I just enforce them."

The warnicorn held fast and Marco met his eyes for a few moments before going back down the stairs grumbling. He threw himself on the couch, adjusting a throw pillow under his head, and promptly shut his eyes…

So much has happened today that it was hard to parse through it all, but the one thought, the one thing that kept occurring to Marco as he drifted off to sleep was that He and Star never got to do midnight Suggaritos…


	6. Misplaced Googly Eyes

Chapter Six:

I am the Only One You Give the Googly Eyes to, Bub.

* * *

 _Tea Infusions: Quiz_

 _Of these listed, which is NOT an infusion for proper tea?_

 _[] Blueberries [] Alcohol [] Syrup [] All Listed [_ _ **X**_ _] None Listed_

 _In your own words, outline when one should utilize Plain Tea versus Tea infusions. (Extra Credit: How do the rules on Tea Infusions change?)_

 _ **Tea is a common drink that one can make at anytime and a lady should make tea for oneself as it promotes healthy glowing skin and a shining spirit. Tea infusions are typically for more formal/populous affairs. At minimum, tea infusions are allowed for as little as two people. Any engagement above five people requires the tea to be infused with two differently colored yet complementing fruits. At ten people, the tea simply must be infused with an alcohol. Alcohol preferences must be secured before hand.**_

 _I decide to use a mixture of herbs and vodka in a 1:2 ratio and store the mixture for several weeks. Have I made a tea?_

 _True []_

 _False [_ _ **X**_ _]_

 _If False, I made a what?_ _**Tincture**_

 _Strawberry pairs with _ and Blueberries pair with _. Why?_

 _1:_ _ **Lime**_

 _2:_ _ **Oranges**_

 _ **They are complementing colors, as in; they allow each other to pop out. Purely for presentation purposes**_ _._

 _On the Scale provided below. Please rate how attracted you are to Princess Star Butterfly._

 _1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 9 - 10_

 _Not interested Can't Resist_

 _ **^ I'm not answering this ^**_

* * *

Marco squinted at the sheet of paper in front of him. He had come to Heinous' chambers to see an old desk with cracked green paint had been placed in the open area between the kitchen and the sitting space with this quiz on it and a testy Miss Heinous pushing him to take it. He didn't want to know why Miss Heinous included that last question…

"Okay. I'm done." Marco tapped the desk with his pencil.

Miss Heinous stood up from her chair, laying down a stitch she had been working on and totted over. She grabbed the quiz and held it up close to her eyes. Her lips moved silently.

"Question two, not enough detail. No extra credit." She said.

"How." Marco asked. It occurred to him that it didn't matter, but he liked extra credit.

"You fail to mention the _twenty_ person scenario."

"The twenty person scenario is that you include an _Hors d'oeuvre_." Marco lifted from memory. He read the stupid reading assignments. Heinous shifted her gaze to him, confused.

"Well, if you _know_ it, then why didn't you write it down?"

"Because it's not tea."

"Oh piffles" She walked back to her chair, still reading the quiz. "Of course it's tea. _Tea_ is simply not _just_ liquid Mr. Diaz. It's a _social ritual."_

"Fine. Whatever." Marco leaned back in his chair to look at the ceiling. That voice inside his head was hopping up and down again. He had tamped down on stitching her mouth shut, but now it wanted to just throw this desk out the window. _He had just taken a test on tea._

"Tone." Heinous chastised, sitting back down after moving the stitch. "- Oh?" She said. " _Now why wouldn't you answer this?"_ She nearly _accused_ him. "Question Five."

"That really isn't tea." Marco said patiently. "None of your business… Why is that question even on there?"

"Well… I take it you find it ridiculous?" Miss Heinous said matter of fact.

"Kind of."

"Good. Because you _are_ ridiculous." She branded him. Marco sighed.

"What are you going on about?"

"I do not _go on_ about such things, Mr. Diaz. You will watch your tongue." Miss Heinous warned with a finger. "Honestly. _You don't see Star in that way?_ Weren't those your _exact_ words from yesterday?" She prodded.

Disregarding the fact that Miss Heinous was focusing on something completely weird. Marco struggled to remember what she was talking about. He had talked for so long yesterday that it was hard to pinpoint where exactly he said that.

"I… Guess?"

"It most certainly is a guess." Miss Heinous said quickly. "Now you simply _cannot_ justify that statement to me. Impossible."

"Why do you even care?" Marco shook his head. She's been needling him about this for a while now and there was not a snowballs chance in the underworld that he was going to open up about _that_ to her.

"You spend _a year_ together and not _once_ you look at her in that way? Not even a little?"

"We are just friends." Marco replied with his usual mantra whenever pressed about this. If he were being completely honest, yes, the errant thought has passed over him once or twice. Little notices, or little fantasies brought out in the dead of sleepless nights. He did _wonder_ … but that's all he would allow. Star didn't need a hero. She needed a friend, and that _is that._

"Oh piffles… Absolute piffles. You _must_ be attracted to Star…" Miss Heinous breathed. At that, Marco marched over and sat down in his usual chair, right across from Miss Heinous. She had an unusually contemplative look on her face. Rubbing her cheek with a thousand yard stare at the stitch in her lap.

"Well, I'm not." Marco insisted. "Now. Would you like to hear more of the story so that we can get off this topic?"

Heinous didn't say anything, merely looked up and affixed him with a faraway stare, like she didn't know what to make of him.

" _Impossible_." She mumbled.

* * *

Marco couldn't remember the last time it's been this quiet around the house. For the past three weeks, it was almost like he was living a normal life again. He came home after school, did his homework. He texted Jackie. He made himself a snack at seven o'clock on the dot. He texted Jackie. He watched his shows. Did chores. Texted Jackie. He should have been fine. Silence was something that he's missed for a very long time. But he had to admit, it was kind of miserable…

"Oh Mr. Buffrog, you must come to dinner with us." His mother, Angie cooed.

"Could I get your proportions by chance? Such a fascinating build you have, would very much like to paint it." His father, Rafael, mushed. They were all seated at the kitchen table, a lazy late Saturday afternoon. It was their weekly update from Buffrog regarding the information gathering on Ludo that he's been engaged in. Star was there to, but she was busy reading the notebook as it was in mewnian. One of the few times these past weeks Marco got to see her for an extended period of time.

"No, No. Is not necessary… Cannot leave little children alone for long."

It seemed to be a common theme, but he was miserable because of Star. Marco felt horrible for what happened with the pirates and Oskar. He had been so sure it was going to work between those two. Built Star up so high. Only for it to come crashing down.

"Oh, well you can bring them with you." Angie pressed

"Ah! Perfect!"

" _Ach…_ eight children to restaurant? Is not good idea. _"_

 _"Oh_ Its not a restaurant, we're having a picnic in a tent in the backyard!" Rafael waved away jubilantly.

"Uh, why?" Buffrog asked.

"The perfect balance of privacy and keeping an eye on this pretty handsome dude here." Angie walked back Marco, mussing his hair.

"Buffrog, what is this word here in your notes?" Star tilted the notebook she was reading towards Buffrog. She was seated to Buffrog's left with Marco on Buffrog's right.

"Ah… Uh… _cave directs… T-section_." Buffrog traced with his finger.

"Thanks."

The thing is, he felt bad afterwards, but Star had been on a whole other level of devastation these last three weeks. It's never simple with her. He had woken up the very next morning after the pirates to a whole entourage of spells trying to work some food out in the kitchen to bring to her. She didn't leave her room for three days after that. He had to get some kind of special ID to even go upstairs, and even then, he had an escort to his bed and the bathroom. He had tried multiple times to reach out to her, try and cheer her up, but it all fell flat. She was _avoiding_ him.

"Oh it's really no trouble!" Angie admonished the big green frog. "Marco here has got a special little dinner planned!" Angie had gotten out of her seat and was walking around the kitchen, lightly wiping down the counters. "So we gotta make ourselves scarce!"

"Wait. Special dinner?" Star asked.

Marco trained his eyes on the table, half listening to the conversation around him. He was in a foul mood. He and Star hadn't had a good conversation for a while now, and he really would have liked someone to talk to. He wasn't sure what to make of the recent development that had cropped up.

"Your offer is kind. But I must refuse." Buffrog said. "… Most kind for food."

He wasn't sure what happened, but it was around two weeks ago when he started to notice a change between him and Jackie. She wasn't smiling as much, wasn't as enthused about their dates. Their text conversations he felt were just a one-sided on his side. He wasn't sure what was going wrong, or what was eating her… He was too afraid to ask her… To afraid to talk about these things...

"Marco." He heard Star say from far away.

Of course, that worried him. Lots of things were worrying him these past few weeks. He worried about Star. He worried about Jackie. He worried about himself. He was even worried about this stupid _Blood Lovers_ thing, and he didn't even think it was true… but it was like this annoying little gnat that just wouldn't go away. All coming down to how Oskar and Star didn't get together. Even after he had been so _sure_ that it was going to happen.

"Sweetie. Star's talking to you."

He was always quick to chase it away. He didn't want to believe it, didn't want to indulge that kind of thinking. It was ridiculous; he and Jackie weren't going to suffer the same fate…

"Son?"

"Karate boy."

"Uh – His name is Marco."

"And my name is not Buffrog."

The worst part was that he couldn't talk to anyone about it! Star and him weren't talking beyond a few words. His parents… Don't get him wrong, he loved his parents. However his parents were simply just not very present in his life. Probably a big part of why Star thought his parents were so cool, but it definitely had its drawbacks. Among other things, he always felt there was a bit of a wall between him and them. Never felt comfortable opening up to them, _especially_ when it comes to this stuff. Jackie? He was too much of a wimp to talk to her about it…

The conversation died down around him and Marco shifted in his seat. He looked over at the stove to read the time, and he read that it was four-thirty. He had a very involved prep ritual planned, cologne, shower, deodorant, floss, brushing, mousse the whole nine yards and he had asked Jackie to come for five-thirty so they could take a short little walk before he started cooking.

Marco looked over at the table and at each face, not sure what to make of it. Buffrog, Star, his parents were all staring at him, concerned. He hadn't been paying attention.

"Uh. Sorry. I have to go… Get ready…" He said in a small, low voice and he pushed his chair out and shifted out. He felt their eyes on his back as he headed out.

* * *

One of his favorite parts of getting ready like this is the radio he got. It had a song from his late grandpa that he always liked to play. Always teased him about how it'd bring him luck with the ladies. However, he couldn't bring himself to turn it on now. It just didn't feel right. He didn't need luck. He needed to work. He shifted through his toiletries. One day he won't need the no-sweat deodorant, but that day wasn't today. He spread out everything he was going to need, and started to wrestle with his hoodie. He wanted to shower first, but as he pulled the hoodie over his head, he heard the door open.

"Marco…?" He heard Star say, a little unsure. Marco couldn't see, but he turned his whole body towards where he thought Star was.

" _Hey Star."_ He said to the inside of his clothes.

"Um. Your hoodie."

" _I know."_

 _"_ Oh… Okay." She said, and Marco stood there waiting for her to say anything else. Although no words came, and his arms were staring to hurt.

 _"Star I need to get ready."_ Marco prodded her. A beat silence more passed until Star spoke again.

"Do you think it'd be alright if I stay?" Star asked. Marco paused, his knee jerk reaction was to say no…

" _Why?_ "

"I wanna talk."

" _Really."_ Marco returned. Well, okay, that was different. If she was willing to talk, he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. He finished taking his hoodie off all the way and threw it unto the floor. He could see Star clearly now, she was leaning against the doorframe of the bathroom, frowning at him. "We haven't talked in a long time you know."

"I know… and I'm sorry." Star offered. "I've had a lot on my mind." She started to twirl her hair. Marco pursed his lips. She wasn't the only one…

"Alright. You can stay." Marco nodded. "Just… don't be hopping in or anything."

"Thanks… wasn't gonna." Star walked in and hopped up on the sink's corner, a favorite spot of hers. Marco, in his white undershirt checked to make sure he had a towel before hopping into the shower and closing the door. He undid his pants and threw it over, his pants landing with a thud on the tile. A few seconds later, he turned on the faucet and hot water started to hiss out the nozzle an steam started to cloud the glass. Marco was about half-way through washing his body with a quick lather when Star spoke up.

"So… Uh, special dinner?" She questioned. Marco closed his eyes and drew in a breath.

"It's nothing honestly." Marco said. "I'm just doing spaghetti and garlic bread. Simple."

"What for? Special occasion?" She asked.

"No occasion. I just thought it'd be nice…" Marco said, a little vague. He wasn't expecting to talk to Star like this and he wasn't sure how to approach this topic without alarming her. He knew Star took the whole _Blood Lovers_ thing way harder than he did, he didn't want to needlessly worry her. He could handle this.

"Also saw some donut holes in the fridge with a post-it note from you." Star said and Marco sighed.

"Yeah. That's uh – That to." Marco rinsed off and plucked the shampoo from the side. He thought the donut holes would make a nice little dessert for them.

"Cool." She said and they fell into a silence, and Marco took the lull to start lathering his hair. As he got underway, he got his thoughts in order. He wasn't going to let this conversation be one-sided.

"How have you been?" Marco asked her.

"Oh… _y'know…_ Been doing good." Star said, and Marco almost laughed. She didn't sound good _at all._

"Holding up okay?"

"Yeah – I guess. Kinda sorta." Star said haltingly.

"What's up?"

" _Oskar._ Blood lovers. _Blegh."_

 _"Ah."_ Marco grunted, dunking his head into the nozzle and washing the soap out of his hair. "I'm really sorry about all that Star."

"It's alright Marco. I can hardly blame you for all that." Star was quick to say.

"Well – I mean, I'm the one who gave you such… Expectations."

"You had no way of knowing."

"Still. I'm sorry."

"Well apology _not accepted._ Because you didn't do anything wrong. Honestly, I'm just glad you and Jackie are doing fine."

" _Yeah_." Marco said and instantly bit down on his lip until it hurt. His tones was completely half-hearted and pretty much a dead giveaway that _something_ was up. Marco grabbed the conditioner and clamped his mouth shut. Star wasn't saying anything which he assumed met he was in for it as soon as he got out…

" _Marco."_ Star's blurred face smushed up against the glass and he stumbled, frightened by the sudden appearance and the conditioner clattered to the bottom of the tub. Good thing Star couldn't see him… "Everything _is_ alright with you and Jackie… _Right?"_

"Yes Star…" Marco fumbled and knelt down to pick up the bottle "Yes. Everything is alright." Star's face went away, and Marco stood back up, quickly squeezing out some conditioner and giving his scalp a good rub.

"It doesn't sound like it…" He heard Star prop herself back up on the sink counter.

"Everything is _fine_ , Star." Marco grumbled, hating himself. Just had to drag himself into this… while in the shower. The glass started to condense... and Marco heard the glass start to squeak. Marco dunked his head again to get the conditoner out. When he got out, he was surprised to see a giant angry frowny face had been drawn on his shower door glass.

"I know you're lying _Diaz."_ Star articulated from outside.

" _Ah boy."_ Marco mouthed and turned off the water. He reached up to the metal beam holding the shower door and grabbed his two towels. One was maroon and the other was teal. He wrapped his hair in the teal one, and wrapped his body in the maroon one. "Coming out Star." He warned, and snapped the door open. Star was pouting at him, arms crossed and leaning against the counter, leering at him.

"What's wrong between you and Jackie?" She phrased it almost like a command.

"It's nothing." Marco walked up to the counter and grabbed his toothbrush and squirted out some toothpaste on it. However, as soon as he brought it up to his mouth it… turned away. The head bent away from his mouth and smeared the toothpaste against his cheek.

"Huh?" Marco flicked his eyes over to Star who was still leering at him. He tried is toothbrush again, bending this way and that, wiggling. "Okay what's going on?"

" _Oh I'm sorry…"_ The toothbrush turned completely around to reveal a tiny little face that was currently quite miffed at him. The toothbrush's voice sounded like a gerbil. " _You want me to go in there?"_

"Yes?" Marco couldn't even bring himself to be startled. He's grown numb to this… although he could feel Star glaring at him.

" _Well."_ The toothbrush huffed. " _I would… if we were friends… not sure we can be though…. SINCE YOU BOTTLE EVERYTHING UP!"_ It threw out the accusation.

" _Toothy girl, you're too hard on him girl."_ His no-sweat deodorant clicked open and his stick had a face on it now, admonishing his toothbrush.

" _LET HER!"_ His scented deodorant rankled " _NEVER USES ME ANYWAY!"_

" _Veeeeeeewwwwwwwww…"_ The hair drawer chimed in.

" _Low Blow girl."_ No-scent said. For the record, every single one of these voices sounded like they were on helium.

"Okay – Star. What is going on? What did you do?" Marco cut everyone off and addressed Star.

"What do you _think_ I did? I'm magical and you're not leaving this bathroom until you tell _everyone_ what's wrong." Star said

" _YEAH!"_ Toothy exuberantly agreed. " _I MEAN WHY EVEN BOTTLE THINGS UP! THAT'S STUPID! YOU SHOULD JUST BELT OUT WHATS BOTHERING YOU! BELT IT RIGHT OUT IN FRONT OF EVERYONE! IN FRONT OF A MEGASCREEN JUMBOTRON WITH FIVE BAJILLION MICROPHONES! SPELL IT OUT IN THE SKYYY IN BIG BOLD RED LETTERS HOW YOU REALLY FEEL! YOU FEELING ME HOODY MAN!? CAUSE I FEEL THE INSIDE OF YOUR MOUTH EVERY DAY!_

"That is enough, Toothy." Star grumbled, and Marco tried to get a word in, but oddly enough, his toiletries cut him off.

 _"Preach."_ No-sweat said. " _I certainly feel him to."_

 _"Well I don't…"_

 _"No worries Scented, you'll feel him one day."_

"Can everyone and everything please stop?" Marco said. "Fine. You win." He gave in, if he let this go on any longer he was going to be late, and he was _not_ greeting Jackie in a towel.

"Right. This got a little out of hand sorry." Star opened the drawer and pulled out her wand. "Say goodbye everyone."

" _God speed man."_

 _"Start using me."_

 _"Vewwww…"_

 _"YOU SHOULDN'T BE AFRAID!"_ Toothy finished with oomph, and Star dismissed them with a wave of her wand.

"Okay…" Marco immediately put more toothpaste and his no inanimate toothbrush and began to actually brush his teeth now. As he was finishing up, Star spoke.

"So. You and Jackie?"

Marco spat.

"It's nothing that bad really. I just think me and Jackie are going through a rough patch is all."

"A rough patch?" Star repeated.

"Yeah." Marco brought out his floss.

"Wait – how can you two be going through a rough patch?"

"I'm not sure. Think I'm doing everything right, but I just feel like she's getting distant." Marco explained. There really wasn't much more than that. Jackie just seemed bothered.

"And you're doing a special dinner for her because of that?" Star summed up.

"Well yes." Marco confirmed in between floss picks. "Its just something simple, I'm making spaghetti and garlic bread for us. Donut holes for dessert."

Marco finished flossing and Star didn't say anything for a time, looking to be lost in thought. He had finished in the bathroom and stood there for a bit, waiting for Star to say anything else. When she was forthcoming, Marco started to walk towards the door, and he had his hand on the knob when Star finally said something.

"You don't think we should be worried about… _Blood Lovers_ do you?" Star started, and Marco sighed. He didn't want to talk about this.

"It's nothing to worry about." Marco turned to face her, hand still resting on the knob. "It's nothing."

"Well _no no no no no_ – I mean, I don't know Marco…" Star was beginning to twirl her hair again.

"Star…" Marco sighed. "It's just a rough patch, nothing more. Nothing is going to happen."

"Well you can say that Marco, but this could be serious."

"Star." Marco was starting to stress, and he didn't need this right now. He was already going to be sweaty enough with Jackie coming over. "You need to _chillll."_

"Well I can't _Chilllll…"_

"Again. Nothing to worry about, now I must change." Marco said, and with that, left Star standing in the bathroom.

As soon as his door slammed shut, Marco went to work drying himself off and getting his clothes ready. It wasn't supposed to be formal so red hoodie, black slacks it was. He mentally slapped himself as he changed. He never should have indulged Star he realized, cause now she's probably going out of her mind for no reason. He refused to believe that the blood lovers were a thing. His phone was resting on his nightstand and he swiped it off to look at the time. Five fifteen. Would probably be for the best if he waited downstairs. Jackie was usually early to things.

He exited his room, only to find Star standing right outside his door, picking at her fingers and rings starting to form around her eyes.

"What if I _help you?"_ Star said without missing a beat.

" _No."_ Marco sidestepped her and started down the hall, but Star was right behind him.

"Oh come on, I've helped you with Jackie before." Star said quickly.

"This is _my thing_. Star." Marco stressed. "I can handle this."

"Well, yeah yeah, sure I know you can… _but…"_

 _"_ Star, stop it." Marco and she stopped at the stairs and Marco turned around. He needed to put this to rest. "It will be fine."

"Marco, I just want to _help…"_ Star began, and Marco was ready to keep denying her, but as he took a breath, Star kept talking. "Look, I don't want what happened with me and Oskar to happen to _you._ I've helped you get Jackie, please let me help you _keep_ her. Trust me Marco, you let me help? She'll be _swooning_ guaranteed. Without a doubt."

For a split second, Marco felt himself waver. That _did_ sound enticing… but he could feel himself rejecting it. He didn't want any help. He wanted this to be _his_ affair, didn't want to have to always depend on someone egging him off. Also… yes, he wanted to prove to an extremely small part of him that there was nothing to this whole Blood Lovers thing.

"I'm sorry Star. But I don't need your help with this." Marco said, and Star cringed as if he had slapped her… Which made him want to throw his hands up in the air. He's not trying to be a bad guy here!

" _Wha- Wha-_ What are you talking about?" Star sputtered.

"This. Is my thing." Marco asserted. "I am going to handle this relationship the way I want to. Now please, respect that, and you'll see that you're worrying over _nothing."_

When Marco finished, Star looked like a pall had passed over her face. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, but no words came out. He wasn't sure what the deal was. She had to learn that he had to be independent every once in a while.

A knock on the door rang out from the bottom of the stairs. Marco took that as his cue. "And there's Jackie." Marco told Star. Star didn't respond to him, and Marco turned away and went downstairs to open the front door. Sure enough, Jackie was standing outside. She was in her usual white and green shirt with shell necklace, but she was wearing the baggy pants again.

"Good Evening Marco." She said sweetly.

"Hey Jackie…" Marco waved; a little hot bundle of nerves still lumped in his throat whenever he saw her.

"What's this _surprise?"_ She asked. "What ya got for me?"

"Oh, I'll tell you later – after a walk." Marco said the first part of his plan. Jackie raised an eyebrow and brought it down just as quickly, thoughtful.

" _Ahh_ a walk then? Not much of a surprise, we can always walk."

"The surprise isn't the walk, just some quiet time for us to talk before I start _cooking."_

" _Ooh,_ now I get ya." Jackie giggled. "Well, cool! Let's do it."

"Yeah… let's." Marco took a step outside; He figured that they could just walk around the block and back. A short little walk and then a neat little dinner. Plenty of time to talk and iron things out. Plenty of time to breach topics. But when he stepped outside, he stopped, he felt like he was missing something.

Right before he locked the door, Marco looked back in the house and up at the top of the stairs… Star had disappeared.

* * *

Well, that walk was an utter failure.

He wanted that time to try and coax Jackie out, see what was wrong, but he had to go and wimp out. They spent pretty much the bulk of it in silence, a few kind words exchanged here and there, but nothing he couldn't remember as they walked back in his driveway. Failed. Failure. Why was he scared? What was he afraid of?

"Hungry?" Marco asked, that was an inoffensive topic at least.

"Starving, hah." Jackie smiled and Marco wrestled with his keys before unlocking the door. The house was empty, but if he really, _really_ strained is ears. He could hear his parents giggling in the backyard. He hoped Star was with them and not cooped up in her room. They walked in the family room.

"Okay. So go ahead and make yourself comfortable. I'm going to go get dinner started." Marco directed her at the couch, which she gratefully took.

"Any hints about dinner?"

"No Hints… although I hope you like nachos." Marco tried to tease; those were a pretty easy thing to do and could be a good appetizer for them.

"Hate nachoes." Jackie said.

"What?"

"Kidding. It sounds great Marco."

"Heh… Right." Marco calmed himself down. With Jackie sitting down, Marco marched into the kitchen, and he only got about three steps into his kitchen before he froze.

So his kitchen had a sliding glass door, which filtered out into his backyard. It's such a normal unassuming fixture that usually Marco just discounted it whenever he came into the room except… he couldn't see it anymore. In its place was the wavy boundaries and swirling colors of teal and white, a inter-dimensional portal. That wasn't all though. Resting on the counter was a… Butterfly, not Star, but an actual butterfly the size of a wombat. Three colors, lower half was dark green, and lightening in color until it was teal at the head. She was sitting there, absent-mindedly kicking her feet and holding a small green narwhal, tucked in her arms sleeping peacefully. When he entered, the Butterfly looked at him, and he looked at the Butterfly totally silent.

"Oh! Oh you're here!" The Butterfly said in a very high voice, undoubtedly female. She stood to her feet carefully, holding the baby.

"… What?" Marco said. "What- _what is going on here?"_ He said and he instantly brought he voice down several levels. He didn't want Jackie to hear.

"Star called us to help." She said. "It's a… Oh where's the script..." She trotted on his counter over to a small pile of papers. It was pink and covered in stickers and marker. She leaned over, looking at the top sheet. " _Magnificent Mewni Marathon, an extravagant display of inter-dimensional opulence communicated through the flavors of the universe…"_

" _What?"_ Marco spoke in a harsh whisper. He could hardly believe this. What was Star thinking?

"Yeah. For you and Jackie… right?"

"No no no." Marco rebuked, waving his hands. It was obvious she didn't get the memo. That, or Star didn't tell her the memo. "I'm not doing this. Where's Star?"

"I- I don't know…" She said, unsure. "Wait, did Star tell you she was doing this?"

"I told her _no!"_ Marco muttered viciously. "Whatever this is stop it."

"O-Oh dear…" She was frowning, anxious even if Marco could guess at the emotions of a oversized butterfly. "Um – _she –_ She didn't mention that… I can't do anything…"

Marco had another sharp word for that, but he found himself actually feeling bad for the Butterfly. She looked just as pained as he did.

"I'm sorry for getting cross… It's just, I told Star not to do this." Marco explained himself, but the Butterfly still looked worried. "Look, we'll just… ignore the portal okay? I can go ahead and get dinner started."

" _Uh –_ No you can't…" She murmured in a quivering tone.

"… Why." He said.

"Um… the fridge." The butterfly gestured with one of her arms towards it, and Marco followed her arm. He power walked over to the fridge and opened it. It was _empty._ No milk, deli-meats, cheese, no condiments, no water or fruits. Nothing! It was cleaned out! Where were the donut holes?

Snapping it shut, Marco backed up a couple paces, eyes darting around the room until he settled on the pantry. Without wasting a moment, he jogged over and opened it only to find the same thing. It was empty as well. No spaghetti, no sauce. The pantry was totally empty.

" _What happened to the food?"_ Marco nearly shouted his whisper and directed that to the air.

"Star… got rid of it all."

" _Why?"_

"I don't know…" The butterfly cringed, and Marco sighed. This was getting nowhere.

"Okay, look I'm sorry." Marco spoke in a softer tone. "But this is just not for us okay? When you see Star, please just tell her that we went out to eat - "

" _Well now what's this?"_ Both the Butterfly and Marco whirled around to see Jackie with her hands on her hips, watching them both curiously. Marco found a spear of ice run down his back.

"Jackie it's nothing." Marco tried to say, but Jackie was already walking into the kitchen, interested.

"Hello." She said to the Butterfly.

"H-Hello." She returned. "You must be Jackie…"

"Why yes I am. Who are you?"

"Vanessa." Vanessa said, getting a little stronger. "I love your hair."

"Thanks… um, what's that you're holding? Looks like a… narwhal?"

"Why yes. This is my son, _Mega Narwhal Blast Jr_." She cooed. Both Jackie and Marco paused, not sure what Jackie thought, but Marco thought that incredibly odd.

"Well It's very nice to meet you both. What is going on here?"

"Again nothing –"

"Oh… here." Vanessa bent down and with two free little arms, grabbed the pink slips and slipped one to Jackie who began to read. Vanessa took the other one and gingerly offered it to Marco. He kept his hands at his sides for a few seconds before reluctantly taking it. They had no food in the house, and he hardly had an idea of what kind of restaurant to go to. Might as well check what this was all about…

It was obviously rushed together, _The Magnificent Mewni Marathon,_ Marco wasn't even sure was a thing. In fact, he was sure it wasn't a thing because it was just written in big blocky letters and hearts. Rainbow and sunny stickers were pasted all over and could he say something? Star just had absolutely no sense on how to effectively use the real estate on the paper and this was bothering him way more than it should because the colors were clashing and it looked like a gummy bear threw up on this. The paper was folded in half long ways and Star couldn't even get the fold to totally line up with the paper so it was off kilter and that frustrated him to no end.

" _Oh man. No way…"_ Jackie breathed.

Marco looked over at her, slightly annoyed. She actually sounded excited. Marco looked back at his little pamphlet and opened it. It was in the same typography as the title, and looked like it was thrown together in about five seconds:

 _The Party in your Mouth!_

 _:o Three Courses! :o_

 _:O Three Dimensions! :O_

 _O.O Three Unforgettable Moments! O.O_

 _Join us for dinner, which includes:_

 _Appetizers and Drinks at the Bounce Lounge!_

 _Entrees at Mewni's Premiere Eating Establishment!_

 _Dessert where it all began!_

 _A night you won't ever forget!_

"Um. Marco?" Vanessa chimed in. "Star also wanted me to tell you check the back of yours." She tapped his paper, and Marco turned it over so he could see the back. There was a little message for him.

 _\- Marco._

 _I stole all the food in the house._

 _Trust me on this._

 _This is for our own good._

 _I ate the donut holes._

 _That was for my good._

 _Trust me, you won't need em! : D_

 _\- Star_

Marco looked at the words on the page, it took a couple of reads before it really hit him what Star did. The paper crinkled in his hand.

"So this is _cooking?"_ Jackie said with a light laugh, but her good nature quickly died when she looked over at him.

"I wanted this to just be an _us_ thing." Marco said, strained, but he really started to hate himself as he watched Jackie start to recede in herself like she has been doing. She didn't like what he said, he realized. "And all our food is gone."

"Oh… Okay." She said, subdued. "Sorry bout that. Yeah – Whatever you want. Your call here."

Marco suppressed the urge to growl. Now, he could admit this about himself, but he could be pretty dense at times. However, Jackie wasn't that hard of a person to read. He was hurt in all honesty; because it was obvious she was more excited with what Star cooked up than what he was going to do.

He stood there, keeping a tight lid on himself. He couldn't let his tone, body language, anything betray what he was feeling right now, not like with Star ealier. As soon as she opened her mouth, he knew how his night was going to go. He didn't want to drag her away from something she actually felt was fun…

"Well. I guess I can't complain with three courses." Marco played it off as casually as he could. Never mind the fact that he was honestly annoyed. He swallowed his frustration and forced it down. Whatever Star had, it was obviously going to be more _fun_. Typical…

"You sure?" Jackie asked pointedly.

"I am a little off put." Marco relented just a centimeter, just enough to placate any concerns. "But – well, you know Star, when she gets an idea in her head. She does it. Now if she wants to show us a good time? Can't complain with that." Marco shrugged.

"As long as you're sure Marco. You don't have to just to make me happy."

"I'm not." Marco lied. Although if you squinted at it and tilted your head and twisted his arm… He could be telling the truth.

"As long as you're sure." Jackie repeated, quieter.

"I am." Marco affirmed as best he could. "Vanessa. I guess we'll be going along for the ride."

Vanessa, who was watching the exchange with careful eyes, suddenly started as Marco addressed her. Her wings fluttered and she flew up in the air between them.

"Great news!" She chirped. "Now, all you need to do is go through the portal. We have Cloudy on the other side waiting for you to take you to your first location. I hope you both have fun. Star was really adamant about that."

"Sure we will." Marco nodded

"I'm sure!" Jackie nodded as well.

Marco stepped in front of the portal and Jackie followed closely behind. Trying to be a good sport, Marco offered his hand to her and she wrapped her hand in his, giving a small rub of reassurance.

"Off we go." Marco said

"Yep."

* * *

Marco and Jackie exited the portal to a pulsating, deep melodious beat that drummed at the belly.

The Bounce Lounge was always a busy spot for Marco. Whenever he went there, it was always nighttime. Boom boxes and dance pads with laser light shows sitting on clouds nestled among the starry sky that masked the deadly spikes below. A whole array of creatures both humanoid and otherwise congregated on the dance floor and cocktail tables. The glasses ranged from short and stock to lanky and curly filled to the brim with red fizzy foamed drinks or purple draughts.

The dimension felt like a dream that tried to lull you to sleep. Rocking you gently with the reverb of the bass and sway of the hips. The natives were tall lanky humanoids with turquoise feathered arms and whiskered faces that bobbed their heads perpetually to the rhymes in the sky whilst lounging on clouds.

"Well _hey!"_ It was hard to make out at first, but Cloudy sidled up to them, bumping and puffing to the beat. He looked right at home. "Welcome! Welcome! To you both! First stop!" He shouted over the music.

"Hey Cloudy!" Marco focused on his host. Jackie was looking out at everything else. This was her first time here.

" _Wow!"_ She yelled. " _This is amazing!"_

"Isn't it!?" Cloudy agreed. "We got a _private cloud_ set up for you two lucky ducks! Follow me!" Cloudy squealed and started to roll away. Marco and Jackie followed him closely. The crept up to the edge of the cloud that they were on and Marco was surprised to see a rainbow jetting out as like some kind of bridge.

Every so often, Marco chanced a glance over at Jackie. She was looking all over, eyes shimmering and widely smiling, way more than she's done in the past few weeks he noted… He had to admit though; it did look pretty beautiful out here. There they were, walking on a rainbow in the night sky with a pleasant undercurrent of music that massaged the knees and melted the inhibition… Yet he didn't feel particularly happy… but Jackie was having fun though. Wasn't that all that mattered?

They arrived at their cloud and Cloudy took his leave, floating over the edge leaving them alone. The cloud platform was a lot smaller than the one before and completely empty save for a big round table with plush blue leather seats. The table was laden with glasses and pitchers topped off with a veritable _rainbow_ of liquids that Marco could hardly begin to guess at what they were. A whole assortment of dishes fanned out from the center. Puffs with pink crème in the center. Little pasta logs stuffed with mushrooms with red sauce. Green nuts glazed in caramelized sugar. Leafy greens and sliced strawberries with a thickened pink vinaigrette generously spooned over it. Even nachoes, there were nachoes piled high with melted cheese and sliced jalapeno's drenched in salsa and union and green pepper. That, and a dozen other dishes he was too taken aback to describe.

It was all… _so much;_ this was only the appetizer and drinks…

Marco slowly turned to Jackie and saw her mirroring his face. Her mouth was unhinged and her eyes were wide. They looked at each other for a good three seconds before Jackie took a breath.

"Wow."

"Yeah."

Both Jackie and Marco slowly took a step towards their seat. Sitting down, they took a moment to take in all the food and drink laid before them. The smells wafting off from the table was like an orchestra.

"So. What should we do first?" Jackie asked.

"I'd say drinks. I guess." Marco said.

"In that case – I want that sea-foam green one." Jackie leaned forward and reached for a pitcher of the color stated. She bubbled some into her glass.

"Then I guess I'll go with red." Marco reached for the respective pitcher and poured himself a glass.

It was around that time that Cloudy floated back up towards them. A beaming smile adorned his face.

"Comfortable?" He asked.

Marco looked to his glass and Jackie. She gave him a big smile. He raised his glass towards her. "Cheers."

" _Hah._ Cheers." Jackie laughed, clinking her glass to his.

Despite himself, Marco smiled. He wanted to have a good time, kind of difficult, as something nagged at him, but at least Jackie was happy.

"Well now before you dig in! _Have we got a show for you…"_ Cloudy interrupted them. "I just floated down and lit up _so many fireworks._ Should be going off any second now! Straight ahead up in the sky!"

"Fireworks?" Marco questioned.

"Sheesh." Jackie said over the brim of her glass. "This I gotta see."

"The package was _unforgettable experiences!"_ Cloudy puffed. "So… enjoy!" He said and whirled around. Marco looked up into the sky, expectant.

Why was he doing this? He thought. It felt like there was a wall built up around him. All he wanted was a quiet evening. A time to have a nice deep conversation with Jackie and figure out what was happening...

"Hey. You okay?" Jackie said suddenly and Marco nearly spilled his drink. Did something tip her off?

"I-I'm fine. It's just a lot to take in." Marco deflected.

"Oh yeah, but its really nice of Star."

"Yeah. It is." Marco admitted.

They waited for a long time. So long that Cloudy began to stir, which caught Marco's attention.

"Ummmmmmm… I'll be back." He said, dipping down beneath the cloud floor.

Not five seconds later, he heard snapping and crackling from down below him. Sounded like thunder almost. It continued for nearly a minute, until stopping suddenly and Marco heard ragged panting breathing start to bubble up from below.

" _OOOOOkaayyyy_ not good not good not good!" Cloudy whipped up from the floor in a flash, his face in a panic. "Umm. You two? I'm sorry. But, Uhhh – I need to… get rid of all this! Appetizers done! Time for the entrée!" Cloudy babbled, instantly sucking in a huge breath and letting it out in a huge _whoosh._ Every dish. Every glass on the table sailed away before Marco couldn't really think about what was happening, all the food on the table clattered over the side. "Now if you looked behind yourselves you'll see another rainbow leading to the next portal. Take it! Take it _very soon!_ Like! Now!"

"Cloudy… what did you do?" Marco asked, Jackie had already stood out of her seat, muscles tense.

"Just… _run."_ Cloudy said with a huge sad frown, and then Marco heard the snapping whistle off of rocket going off below them. For a split second, a live orange pellet broke through the floor and shot through Cloudy's underside, it didn't go out through his top though. A tense moment of silence followed. " _It'll be okay._ " He said, "I'm just a spell… I'll be back…"

Then, Cloudy exploded in a brilliant flash of white and orange sparks with a resounding boom that assaulted Marco's eardrums. Jackie and Marco dove to the ground, covering their ears and heads.

"Marco I think we should run!" Jackie yelled, as if on cue, more snapping whistling were heard and Marco understood.

"Yep! We're running!" Marco dashed to his feet and whirled around him. There was indeed the rainbow and if he really strained his eyes, he could make outt he portal. Without thinking Marco took Jackie's hand and they both made a mad scramble for the rainbow as much orange canisters whizzed up through the floor and all around them, Fireworks exploding in a harsh display of color all around them.

Marco hardly looked in front of him as he sprinted away. He didn't want to think he didn't want to stop, all the way until he felt the portal start to rush up to meet him, away from the death by colorful sparks.

* * *

Marco and Jackie passed through the portal, the cloud floor giving way to cobblestone and crisp night air. They were in a little gazebo, overlooking the illustrious Mewni countryside of grey mud and tangled trees. He saw a little table with a white tablecloth on it and fancy thin railed chairs. There were two baskets on the table, filled with… Well, it kind of looked like _calzones,_ if anything.

" _Hey! You're early!"_ A warnicorn clopped into view. He had on a black suit with a white breast flap on it. "Oh man! That's cool." He said. "So yeah man! Uh… yeah entrees! We got some food for ya! Real good stuff." Without waiting for them, he started pushing them towards the table. "Go ahead. Sit down. Eat up. Do your thing. I'll be here if you need me."

Marco and Jackie stood right by the table. He wasn't sure what happened, his mind was still trying to process what just happened.

"Is… that a calzone?" Jakie asked, pointing at one of the baskets.

"I think so."

They sat down, after a moment. Marco stared at the calzone in front of him. Smelled greasy and it was big to.

"So… that was exciting I guess." Jackie threw out there. Marco wasn't sure if he would have chosen that word. Now that he was sitting down, it was like a light kind of going in his head.

"I suppose." Marco offered in a quiet voice. "Are you okay?"

"Are you?"

"Yeah – I'm fine."

Marco took the opportunity to take his calzone and bite into it and it was honestly pretty good. Rich sauce and melted cheese, hard combo to beat honestly. Jackie followed suit and both of them started to eat in silence.

He was mad. He realized. Didn't know what about… just that he was mad at himself. . Didn't think what Star was doing was necessary… pointless even. He wasn't having fun… Well, this wasn't supposed to be _fun in the first place_ wasn't it? Maybe that was it…

"Marco?" Jackie said suddenly.

"Hm?" Marco grunted.

"Are you _sure_ you're okay?"

"I'm fine."

"You don't sound fine."

"I am." Marco tried to say, but he could see Jackie giving a gently chastising look. He wasn't convincing her.

"What's up Marco? Was this not a good idea?" Jackie plopped the calzone down and leaned forward.

"No… No it's fine. This is fun… except…" Marco blew out a breath. Great. Jackie was picking his brain first. This was happening in reverse. "I don't know Jackie. _Can we talk?"_ He forced it out of himself, it felt like pulling nails, but he finally said it.

"Of course Marco."

"I mean – without any distractions. _Y'know?"_ Marco stressed by holding up his calzone. "Don't get me wrong. I appreciate what Star did… but I really just wanted to talk to you. I've had some stuff on my chest lately…"

Jackie looked down and all around before it dawned on her.

"Oh. Marco why didn't you just say so? You can always talk with me. Why did you go along with Star's idea then?"

"Well. It looked like _you were gonna have fun."_ Marco absent-mindedly let his calzone fall in its basket again. "That's all…"

"I'll have fun no matter what." Jackie gently admonished him, and leaned back in her chair, relaxing. "But. We're here. Alone. I'm sure we can talk."

" _You'a gonna die of old age."_ Jackie's calzone, in a heavy Italian accent suddenly piped up.

" _You'a gonna get your heart broken."_ Marco's calzone spoke.

Both Marco and Jackie stared at their food.

"What?" Jackie was the first to say something.

" _Whats it looks like? Talkin' Calzone 'ere, tellin' ya how ya gonna die."_

 _"Eyy, you got the easy job over there! Giving my best guess here with this one."_

Marco stood up, scooting his chair back.

"Okay I'm not doing this." Marco informed all present company, both edible and inedible.

"Is this really a thing?" Jackie stood up a little unsure.

"Yes." Marco remembered the off-handed comment Star gave me all those months ago.

" _Can't run away from the truth now."_

 _"Oh yeah, can't! Don't try it! Enjoy the time ya got left!"_

 _"_ Okay Jackie, we're done with this. We're going home." Marco said, turning on his heel right towards the warnicorn that was a distance away. He looked anxious. Jackie followed closely behind.

"Okay man, I think we're done. Can we go home?"

"Ah man… you still got dessert though man."

"Well just let Star know we're okay." Marco said. "Do you know where the portal is?"

"Oh man. Really? Star ain't gonna be happy with that."

"So? This is our night. I appreciate what Star did, but I think we're done."

"… Uh sure, yeah." He said, subdued. "You see the stair case right there" He lifted one of his hooves and ponted to their right. Sure enough, there were stairs. "You just go down them. Will take you to the final spot."

"Thank you." Marco nodded. He didn't waste any time and made his way to the stairs and down. It was a spiral staircase that went all the way down to the peasant's village.

About half way down, the portal came up and they stepped through.

* * *

At first, Marco couldn't place where he was. He could tell that they were inside, and it was dark… too dark to tell really.

" _O-Oh my. You're here."_ He heard a voice fumble. He's heard that voice before… " _Just give me one second! Almost done…"_

He heard a match being struck, and a small flamed light started to dance among the room… and Marco couldn't help but chuckle. They were _back home._ Back in the kitchen of all places!

"Oh wow… Marco… _look."_ Jackie clutched at his arm, and for a moment Marco looked around until his eyes settled on the table. It had transformed, a tiny beanball like purple spider in a top hat was busy lighting long thin white candles in a crystal holder. But what really drew Marco's attention were all the _sweets_ laid out.

He saw Chocolate truffles cracked open with their filling oozing out on graham cracker bottoms. Ice cream with hard shell syrup and caramel glaze. He saw cherries, and chocolate dipped strawberries. He saw at least four different kinds of pie, complemented with blue, green, and red tarts. Doughnuts and Belgian waffles powdered with sugar. Jelly-cups swirled with peanut butter. He saw apple and raspberry crumble shaped like hearts… and that was barely scratching the surface. This… beat out mere doughnuts. This was insane.

"Oh my gosh." Marco swore.

"My thoughts exactly." Jackie agreed.

"And we're back home…" Marco said.

"Hi you two… evening…" The spider in a top hat fidgeted with his gloves and hat, revealing a balding head. "Um – I-I hope you enjoy all of this. Star worked really hard on this…"

"You're telling me…" Jackie laughed. "… So Marco, did you still want to… _stop?"_

"Well…." Marco could only shake his head. He felt kind of dumb. "I mean, we're back home…" He looked at the display. The lighting was beautiful. Quiet, intimate… he didn't want to jinx it… but it felt _perfect._ "I guess we can indulge ourselves…"

"Don't need to tell me twice"

Jackie pushed away from Marco, and went to sit down. Marco quickly joined her, he hardly knew where to start.

"Well… I hope you both have a good time." Spider in a top hat stumbled. "I'm just going to go… away now." He shot out a thread that snapped to the ceiling, and swung out of the room, leaving them alone.

Marco saw that he had a little plate in front of him that he could fill up, which he did and Jackie did so as well. She was gorgeous, sitting there among the candlelight with a glowing smile.

When they had some dessert. Jackie looked at him.

"So. You want to talk right?" She asked.

"Yes I would." Marco nodded. He felt ready. "I guess… Jackie, _are you having fun?"_

"I am having fun." Jackie took a bite out of a brownie.

"No… I don't mean with this. I know this is fun." Marco said, "I mean… are you _having fun_ with like… being together."

Marco broached the topic, and he saw Jackie's soft smile fall into contemplation, a bit taken aback even.

"Oh."

"Sorry."

"It's okay Marco." Jackie was quick to say. "Don't worry, it's a perfectly good question to ask… what prompted it?"

"I've just… noticed some things recently… It just feels like you haven't been having fun. We're not talking as much, not doing as much as we did… Sorry." Marco tried to explain, but he could feel himself trailing off and his cheeks burning. He didn't like being like this.

Jackie, didn't say anything, her brownie held halfway up… and Marco, well, he wasn't sure what that meant so he kept talking. "I mean – I don't mean to be abrasive. I just want to make sure that you are totally happy with me, and if your not, please tell me if there's anything. -"

"Marco."

"- Cause well, I don't want you to feel like you _have_ to do something. You should _want_ to."

"Marco it's okay…" Jackie put her brownie down. "It's alright… You haven't done anything wrong. Not at all."

"Are _you_ sure?"

"I'm sure… but Marco now don't take this the wrong way… But…" Jackie looked down, and whether she realized it or not, probably did, but Marco was taking it the wrong way. It felt like a knife was twisting into his heart. He did something wrong, he knew it… " _Marco._ I said don't take this the wrong way."

"Uh – Sorry… how'd you know?"

"Well you're looking like I just kicked your puppy…" Jackie said with a tiny chuckle. "Listen… you ready?"

"I suppose."

"Okay… Marco your not imaging things… I guess there's just a few times where I am a little _bored._ Here and there. _"_

" _You are?"_ Marco nearly squeaked, it took everything he had to not start conjuring up nightmare scenarios. "I'm boring?"

" _Noo._ No you're not." Jackie waved away. "But Marco… you know me, right?"

"Yeah."

"What do I like to do?"

"Well. I know you skateboard…" Marco tried to think. "And… I think you also snowboard?"

"Yeah I do. I also hike Marco." Jackie said. "I mean I dance, I swim, I run… I like _doing_ things Marco."

"You do."

"So then let me ask _you_ a question…" Jackie paused. "Have _we_ done anything like that recently?"

Marco thought. Besides the whole Pirate misadventure there wasn't a whole lot they did. They went out to eat more often than not, texted a lot. They went out to movies… All harmless stuff.

"There were a few days after-school where you taught me skateboarding?"

"Yeah. There was." Jackie nodded, "But I want to do _more_ Marco." She stressed. "Don't get me wrong. I can do the sedentary stuff, but I just _cannot_ sit still for very long Marco."

Marco listened, and he agreed with her. Heck, it was all stuff that he knew about her… if anything that was the whole reason why he so admired her in the first place. She just _knew_ what to do.

"I get it… _you're super cool."_ Marco said.

"So are you." Jackie asserted, but affixed a half frown at him when he flapped his lips. "It's true, you need to give yourself more credit Marco."

"Well I mean I'm not really good at all the stuff you are…"

"And you don't have to be, and it's not particularly hard things." Jackie shrugged. She turned her attention to the desserts again, this time slicing off some pie. "You don't have to be beating yourself up Marco. But yes, in the future, maybe we could do more active things?" She suggested.

"… I think so. Yeah." Marco said. He felt unsure about it… that surprised him.

"Good." She said. "Now come on and let's _enjoy_ ourselves!" Jackie declared, and shoved a big piece of pie in her mouth. The sight of her cheeks puffed out was enough to elicit a chuckle out of Marco.

"Yeah – I mean there is a lot here.

"So help me!" Jackie threw a cookie at him.

Marco gingerly started to take his pick of the lot, and it didn't take long before his plate was piled high with just a sliver of the decadent desserts. Although, before he could take a bite of his sweets. He felt a tug on his pants. Pausing, Marco leaned down, Jackie too enamored with her chocolate to notice.

" _Um... Mr. M-Marco…"_ It was spider in a top hat, tapping his fingers together looking worried. He was mumbling at a tiny volume.

" _Yeah?"_ Marco mouthed.

" _Star… Star has just notified me that there maybe a problem with the dessert."_ Spider took off his hat and held it over his chest. " _We need you to relocate to the Living room…"_

 _"What?"_ Marco shot him a puzzled look… He really can't be serious.

" _Just – Just a bit of memory leakage from the wand… Star thinks some of her memories are running amok. It… happens when she uses her wand a lot."_

 _"Are you being serious right now? Are you really? Please tell me your not."_

 _"Mr. Marco I can't tell what you're saying…"_

 _"Never mind!"_ Marco moved his lips.

Just then, Marco heard a splat and then a yelp, and then… a roar.

" _I'LL TEACH YOU TO GIVE MY WIFE THE GOOGLY EYES!"_ He heard.

" _And I'm not sorry! NOT SORRY you half-pint Viking!"_ A nasally annoying voice said.

"Marco!" Jackie yelped. Marco shot up from the table to an odd scene. Jackie was pressing herself against the back of her chair. Her shirt was stained with frosting and powdered sugar and her mouth agape was staring at the table where A miniature King River and mini Lord-Salisbury were currently circling each other, staring each other down.

"I don't usually break spines, _but for you I'll make an exception."_ The river rumbled dangerously.

"You can hardly open a _jar! Much less the spine of nobility!"_ Salisbury shot back.

"I WOULD HARDLY CONSIDER NOBILITY TO HAVE STERN SPINES!" King River roared.

"EVEN SO!" Salisbury cackled "You're hardly worth her time, Viking!" He accused.

"SHE IS MY WIFE! I AM, LIKE, THE ONE PERSON IN THIS WORLD SHE HAS TIME FOR!"

"WELL YOU'RE THREE FOOT EIGHT!"

"… SO ARE YOU!"

"THREE FOOT EIGHT POINT FIVE VIKING. POINT FIVE! YOU ROUND UP AND THAT MAKES IT NINE! I AM TALLER!"

"River!" A mini Queen Moon bounced up over a pastry. "Stop this at once!"

"Not now _honey_ I am about to commit _murder."_ King River chided.

" _Murder_ he says." Salisbury scoffed "You can hardly commit a crime of _jaywalking."_

At Salisbury latest barb, it was like watching a twig snap and King River's face erupted into a boiling rage. With a yodeling war cry, he launched himself at Salisbury, blindly swinging his fists while Salisbury sneered and jeered at him, running away remaining just a hair's breadth away from him.

It was at this point that both Marco and Jackie were standing up and a distance away from what they were witnessing. River and Salisbury laid waste to the table as they played their little game of cat and mouse. Plates were broken, puffs were flattened, pies were ruined and cakes with smashed… there was one particularly enthusiastic squirt of crème from an enclair that Marco had to duck and at that point, Marco just escorted Jackie out of the room… the clattering of their battle still ringing out and the insults just as loud.

"Jackie." Marco asked.

"Yeah."

"How much have you eaten tonight"

"A brownie, some pie, and like three bites of that calzone."

"You're starving aren't you?"

"… Yes."

"I am to… Let's go out and get something. Tacos or Burritos sound good?"

"Totally."

"Okay cool."

* * *

It was late at night, and Marco's stomach was running basically on empty at that point. But, fortunately the little taqueria he usually frequented was but a short walk away from his house, in a strip mall. It wasn't long before they had each gotten a big burrito and started to chow down. Both of them weren't interested in talking at the moment, they just ate, and he wasn't going to question that one bit.

It wasn't until his burrito was nothing but some grains of rice did Marco finally lean back in his seat, relaxed. They had taken advantage of the outdoor seating of the taqueria and it the night air was hot and dry, as it always was in southern California. They were alone, to Marco's pleasant surprise. Jackie finished her food a bit after him and leaned back, enjoying the quiet… Although Marco wasn't doing so hot.

He was at odds with himself. He was picking through the conversation with Jackie and, for all intents and purposes. It was an exceedingly reasonable concern of hers. She wanted to be more active, so did he. He knew better. He knew that this shouldn't be a problem… But he was having a problem with it, and he didn't understand why.

"Hey Marco." Jackie said.

"Hey."

"Can I ask you a question? Maybe pick your brain a little bit Now that you've picked mine?"

"Sure." Marco said, welcoming the distraction from his entangling thoughts.

"So what do you like about me?" She asked. "Told you why I like you, but why me?"

"Oh." Marco said, interesting question. "Just – you're super cool, y'know?"

"No Marco, I mean really dig down." Jackie chuckled.

"Oh… Okay." Marco paused, thinking. "I guess… well, I just like your _drive_."

"My drive?"

"Yeah. It's like – you always seem to _have a plan_." Marco started. "Or, you don't seem to be bothered by the fact that you don't… I don't know… but it's something that's always made me stop and appreciate you."

"Aw."

"Yeah – like how I first noticed you? Back in third grade?"

"How?"

"Well, it was when we were partnered together for that reading assignment."

"… Well I don't remember that."

"I do, heh." Marco chuckled. He would never forget. "We sat down together, and without even waiting, you gave me a pen and paper and told me to jot down some ideas as you read." Marco's thoughts became cloudy as the memory resurfaced. "You were always the first to talk, you directed… but you were just so nice about it all the time… I tried giving you a card the very next day. A thank you card."

"Wait a minute…" Jackie interjected. "Is that?"

"Yeah." Marco chuckled nervously. "But I was so nervous, I threw up."

" _Ahh haha!"_ Jackie laughed. "Oh man, Marco that's _adorable!"_

"Yeah. _Hehe."_ Marco stuttered. "But Jackie… I just liked how you took the lead… _cause I certainly have a hard time with that…"_ Marco murmured.

Jackie started to spurt and sputter into laughs and Marco chuckled himself. It was true… but there was another reason on the tip of his tongue that he didn't share. Jackie was also his only shot of normalcy nowadays. Star Butterfly was such a cataclysmic event in his life that more than once, he had likened Jackie to like a piece of driftwood in a sea of nachos, lasers, and sparkles. He was still confused.

" _Ohh Marco…"_ Jackie squeaked through her laughs, "You need to give yourself more credit! You are _totally_ able to do that!"

"Well I just… well…" Marco trailed off; he _knew_ he could do it… He just never could push himself to do it.

"Its all about _what you want."_ Jackie said when he stopped. "All there is to it… _you know what you want?"_

What he wanted? That was a hoot. He had no idea what he wanted in life… honestly was dipping dangerously close to _what are your plans for the future…_

"I just want you to be happy." Marco shrugged, in a tiny voice.

"That is nice Marco, but I'm talking about what _you_ _want._ You need to consider yourself here."

Marco stopped. To be perfectly honest, it wasn't something he thought about… but at her words he thought about it… and well, what happened next felt like a sucker punch to the gut. _She was right._ Or rather, he figured out what was bothering him. It was like being given the last piece of the puzzle that had slowly been revealing itself to him. Star and Jackie… _Star and Jackie…_

It was a _choice_ he finally realized, that was what was bothering him… He's never had any time for himself lately. Everyday he was either doting over Star or he was panicking over how Jackie felt… all sandwiched between school, chores, homework, and inter-dimensional incidents… He was forgetting himself… Marco felt an icy cold ring of dread around his heart. He stared at the conclusion, at the completed puzzle, but he could hardly believe what he was seeing… he didn't want to believe it.

" _Marco_?"

Jackie was asking him to commit more time to her, if he did that, he wouldn't have a whole lot of time for Star now would he? Although, he's already been catering to Star so much this last month that he's just been using Jackie as a lifeboat in life… and that wasn't fair to her, Jackie was _way_ more active than that. He simply didn't have enough time in his life for both of them. Although Jackie was his _girlfriend_ , Star was just his _friend._ It should have been an easy choice to make… But Marco, to his everlasting shock, found that it was a hell of a lot harder than he thought. It violently wrenched him backwards and knocked him flat on his butt.

" _You okay_?"

He couldn't please both of them. If he did, he would never consider himself again… He needed. He _needed_ to keep himself in mind… Even if he felt like a jerk… Like Jackie had always told him… he was worth it. He was worth consideration just as much as Star, Jackie, and Janna… Tom or Oskar, anyone.

It scared him… Something so _alien_ pushing him towards something _unthinkable._

Star was his friend. Best friend. But what did that even mean to him? Was she _just_ a friend? Something more? Did she feel the same? Maybe. It felt like such a useless term, _friend_. Where were all these thoughts coming from… ? Why was he thinking like this? _Was he making a mistake?_

" _Jackie…"_ Marco choked out, he felt tears start to prick his eyes… he was going to start crying wasn't he…? " _I'm… I'm sorry."_

"Whoa… okay whiplash, Marco _its okay."_ Jackie stood up from her seat and hurried over to his side, getting close

" _I know… I know… "_ Marco seethed against the tears. " _It's just –_ Jackie, I don't think about myself. I never have. I don't." He tried to pick through it all. "I have absolutely no clue what I'm doing."

"Marco… it's _alright…"_

Marco brought a hand up to rub his eye. No. No it wasn't, she didn't know, but a completely new line of thinking was opening up. Like a tiny little voice borne in his head spouting off, both familiar and unfamiliar. It spoke in a casual, stubborn tone in a sea of moderating, cautious tones. It bucked. It _railed_ at him, enthusiastically pushing a completely untenable, unthinkable idea that sent ice down the back of every single cautious impulse he had. It told him, it _rattled him…_ but Marco could hardly find the resolve to pushback as it struck at his heart. He wasn't ready for this. He didn't _want_ this for himself… He didn't want to choose… but at the same time. He didn't want to just let things fester in this stew of stagnation.

" _Jackie…"_ Marco hiccupped, and every single cautious voice within him yelled and dove to clamp his mouth shut and he faltered. Jackie was looking at him, greatly concerned and he looked into her eyes… those eyes whose shimmering gaze he wasn't returning. "I don't…"

"… Don't what?"

"I…" He said with a mouth full of cotton. He felt nauseated. He was actually going to do this. He was actually going to hurt her… " _I don't think I'm ready for this."_ He finally was able to eek out with a terrible effort.

Jackie remained silent… at first, Marco wasn't sure if she understood, but one look at her dashed that. She must have realized because it killed him. It really did kill him to watch the slow, painful realization spread over her face… the light in her eyes dimming.

"What do you mean?" She asked, but to Marco's shame. It sounded like it was just a formality.

" _I… I mean."_ Marco mumbled at a pathetic volume but swallowed and started again. "I mean I don't think I'm able to give you what you _want._ What you _deserve_." He said. A long silence stretched between them, it was tough to make out just what kind of emotions were playing on her face.

"Are you… _Breaking up with me?"_ Jackie said, stiff as a board.

Marco took in a deep, shuddering breath. His mind lit up like the forth of July, imploring him to turn back, to stop… but that incessant little voice remained obstinate, pushing him _forward_.

"I-I think I am." Marco said.

It was like the kneel of a bell going off in his mind. He had said it. He had done it… and now… Jackie hated him. Hated his guts…

Jackie watched him for a long time and the silence was torture… but after a while, Jackie sighed, and her face dropped into a pitched frown and she slumped into her seat, and seeing that was just about the worst sight Marco had ever seen… He never wanted to hurt someone like this again…

Then. Oddly enough, she smiled.

" _Well."_ She said strained. " _Good thing we've only been together a month then. Heh… Could have been worse."_

"Jackie…" Marco felt his heart breaking. "I am _so sorry."_

"I… actually Marco, I kind of figured it was going to happen." She said, and Marco hit a brick wall.

"… I'm sorry? What?"

"Well yeah Marco… you didn't think I noticed?"

"Notice what?"

"Like. Remember our first kiss? First date? I kissed you."

"Yeah and I kissed you as well."

"Yeah, but I kissed you, but when we pulled away you weren't looking at me. That's what tipped me off… Then all our dates just consisted of simply walks, food, texting or movies… You just never seemed to get into anything all that much… even skateboarding." She listed off, and Marco hardly had the capacity to respond… He liked the skateboarding.

"Wait – I'm just not over the fact that you _knew_ we were going to break up."

"Well I didn't actually know. It was just an inkling." Jackie shrugged, and before his very eyes. Jackie flowed back to herself, sitting up straight again, which just left him sputtering, and eventually Jackie waved him away. "Marco… if you're not ready for a real relationship right now that's completely fine. If you have stuff you need to work out, that's fine. Its just life, y'know?"

"You're not… mad?"

"Sure I am." Jackie nodded, quite enthusiastically.

"Uhm – you just don't seem that way... and please don't be mad at yourself. You have done absolutely nothing wrong. If anything, you have every right to throw the taco at me."

"Because I know how to handle myself. _I'm a big girl Marco, and no I'm still hungry."_ Jackie responded. "Plus I wasn't entirely convinced by the whole _Blood Lovers_ explanation you gave me… I put up some barriers after that…"

Despite himself, Marco wanted to grumble. Okay… fine, he didn't know _what_ to call Star at the moment. She was his friend, yes, but that just felt like the tip of the iceberg with her… Something was up, and he needed time to digest everything.

"Jackie, there's nothing to the Blood Lovers thing… and Star is my best friend…"

"Yeah, I get it." Jackie nodded. "But Marco, you spend so much time with Star as is, I wouldn't be surprised at all if you felt _something_ about her… I mean, heck, you just broke up with me I would bet because of that."

"I just told you that I wasn't ready for a _serious_ relationship."

"Because why wouldn't you be ready for one if you _didn't_ have feelings for Star?" Jackie shrugged.

"Well Jackie, I just am not sure what to think of anything right now. I'm very confused. I like spending time with you, but I also like spending time with Star… and when I started thinking about how I was going to spend less time with either you or Star… I just panicked."

"Hm."

"Yeah…" Marco said, he kind of felt like crap as well. "Again. I'm sorry."

"Well Marco, the short of it is…" Jackie paused "If you need time to think. Then go ahead and think. If you need to work out some stuff, then it is entirely up to you what to do with _your_ life… but Marco you also need to keep in mind." Jackie became forceful. "I am also going to live my life as well… I'm just not going to sit around and wait for you all day. That's not fair to me and I think you understand that." Jackie said, to which Marco nodded rapidly.

"Completely."

"Good." Jackie nodded. "I may end up dating someone else. Heck, Star may end up dating someone else. If that happens and you _finish_ thinking… Are you going to be okay?" She asked pointedly. After a thought, Marco shrugged. He didn't want to think about if it happened… but then again, it could happen…

"I guess that's just life. I understand Jackie."

"It's not fun." Jackie said. "We might get together. We might not. Just life… _just gotta prepare for it._

"I imagine so." Marco agreed. He sensed that their time was growing short, Jackie had shifted in her seat, and their conversation had petered out. "… Jackie we can still be friends right?"

"Well of course we can." Jackie nodded. "… May want to just go our separate ways for a little bit, but we can still be friends with each other."

"Okay." Marco nodded, he was relieved… glad even, it felt like a bumpy ride, but it was coming to an end. "I guess… Would you like me to take you home?"

Jackie responded by giving him a hug, and Marco froze as he felt some tears start to price at his neck, and he felt his own tears spring up as well.

"I would like that. Yes… you really are a good guy Marco…"

"And you're an amazing girl as well Jackie."

* * *

The rest of the night was a blur to Marco.

He hardly remembered the walk to Jackie's house and the drop off. He couldn't recall the walk back home. Now that it was finally over and it was just himself and his cautious thoughts it was like a dam had burst and every single mental faculty he had were clamoring to be heard. He had just broken up with the girl of his dreams, his crush… And had found something completely new in his best friend. It was mind-boggling to be sure… but a heavy pall was cast over him. It was the kind of feeling that started off the size of a mustard seed, but you can see it coming from a mile away.

He wasn't sure how he did it, but he eventually found himself trudging up to his house and fumbling with his keys, He just wanted nothing more to just crawl into bed and say goodbye to this day… Plus, he didn't want anyone to see him.

Star was nowhere to be found… which was probably for the best. Sure, he was confused on her, but this kind of stuff was not something he could talk to her about, he needed time to think. The lights had been shut off all through the house, and a quick glance through the sliding glass door in the kitchen revealed his parents silhouette against a flashlight, still in their tent. Marco headed straight upstairs, and Star wasn't anywhere to be found up there either. He was able to get into his room without a fuss, and as the door closed behind him… that little feeling he felt ballooned and lumped in his throat.

He took off his hoodie, he took off his and slumped into bed. The pillow he had mushed his face against started to get wet as he finally let the tears flow. What he had done had finally caught up to him, and a overbearing grief struck him and he unabashedly started to cry… totally alone in the dark.

Hard to place how exactly he felt… just that it felt like _everything was falling down._


	7. I Shall be Taking That Crown

The King of Mewni

Chapter Seven: Thank you for keeping the Crown Warm. I shall be taking it from Here.

* * *

Marco finished his story for the day. Now usually, that would be the end of it, Heinous usually dismissed him promptly after he'd finish so that she could get ready for bed, apparently her sleeping ritual takes her an hour and she goes to bed at nine-thirty sharp PM. However, this time she crowed in triumph, clapping her hands.

"So you _do_ like Star!" She cheered, but in an instant brought herself back to her own sour self… as always.

"I didn't say that…" Marco pushed weakly. "I don't know what I think of her. That is all." He clarified. Heinous for her part, huffed.

"Oh now don't play that game with me." She said. "I _knew_ you liked her, it was all just a matter of pinpointing _exactly_ when it happened."

"How can you be so sure about that?" Marco asked, she's just so frustratingly confident of herself on this. It was annoying.

"Because I just do!" She shot back, but she still held her had up high. "A girl and a boy simply cannot be _just_ friends… Now I think I understand!" She shifted her in seat. "You must be having a little tiff is all with her! A couple's argument! thats why she sent you away!" She declared.

Marco suppressed a grumble.

"No. We are not together."

"Oh come now. You must be."

"No. I'm serious. We aren't together." Marco shook his head, and Heinous' sour little grin promptly shed away, getting exasperated.

"Well why not!" She shouted. "How! What happened right after that?"

"That's another story… and it's late." Marco said. Night had long since passed and he hadn't eaten dinner yet… Heinous hadn't eaten either, although with how thin she was Marco had an inkling it wasn't exactly a big deal to her.

"Piffles to the clock." She spat. "You are going to tell me exactly what happened… it's not long is it?"

"… Not really." Marco admitted… but it wasn't what she was thinking _at all_ … honestly it nauseated him thinking about what happened next. "But it's really not what you think…"

"Piffles." Heinous slapped away his warning. "You are going to tell me what happened next. I will send for Bailey with food. I simply must know what happened!" She stated, and one look at her… Marco wasn't going to get her to budge.

He took a deep breath, eyelids heavy… this wasn't going to be fun.

* * *

Marco… once again wasn't sure if Star realized this. But he was a light sleeper… and he had just started to doze of to after crying himself out.

 _"MARCO MARCO MARCO MARCO MARCO!"_ He heard Star sound off like an alto firealarm.

" _Whaa-hohohoo!"_ Marco literally jumped out of his covers and figuratively out of his skin and careened over the side of the bed and unto the carpet. He clutched at his covers and brought himself up, face hurting from the impact. " _St- Star?"_

 _"MARCO COME QUICK!"_ Star, wearing her white boots, fuzzy purple socks, and dark green dress shot herself over the bed and balled his PJ shirt in her fists and with a gargantuan pull, cleared him right over the bed and started to scramble out of the room with him clear over her head.

His hallway passed in a blur, and Star blasted into her room, throwing Marco to the ground. He landed right on his butt.

"Ow!"

"Marco Look!" Star wasted no time with him and grabbing his head, wrenched it to the side right where her mirror was. Yet, her he didn't see her mirror… he saw a portal… "Marco… She went in there! She's going after _Ludo_ Marco! She's _going crazy Marco!"_ Star babbled.

Marco stared at the portal for a few seconds, trying to make heads or tails of whats going on. He was still battling the sleep out of his eyes… as well as dealing with the fallout from last night.

"Star? What are you talking about?" Marco mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

"I'm not Star!" She shouted. " _I live under the rug!"_

"The what?" Marco blinked several times; he flicked his eyes to the little throw rug on Star's floor to discover that it had been overturned and cast to the side, folding over itself. The plate of cookies nearby had cookie crumbles and several smashed cookies squelched into the floor. "You… You came out." Marco stated. His mind was still ramping up at the moment.

"I did!" Does she not talk that much? She keeps shouting everything. "I did Marco! And Star is going insane! Like the real Star!"

"Please… just settle down. What are you talking about?"

"Marco! – eh, I mean _Marco…"_ The Star went from a shout to barely a whisper. Great, now he can't really hear her. " _Star left to get her spell book back. Now usually I like to stay out of the way but she didn't tell anyone where she was going and I got worried."_ She explained herself, wringing her hands and hopping like a jackrabbit.

Marco took one a few more seconds but it all started to register to him. It hit him like a thunderclap

"Wait. _What!"_ Marco stepped up to the Star so forcefully she backed up. "Star _left!?"_

"She _did!"_ Star shouted a whisper.

Marco took one look at Star, and then a look at the portal… and that little new voice inside him thundered across his mind, commanded him to _get his butt in that stupid portal._ He looked all around him, his eyes settling on ridiculously fuzzy purple slippers and he wrenched them on his a second thought, Marco dashed towards the portal and lunged through, mind in a cloud of panic. He didn't even know if the other Star was going to come along. He didn't care. All that mattered was Star Butterfly, the real one.

He could hardly guess why Star left, but he barely had nor wanted to take anytime to think about that. Star was in danger. Star could be _hurt._ His _friend_ was alone! His… _Whatever-she-is-he-doesn't-know-he-hasn't-had-enough-time-to-think_ was gone.

* * *

He got about three steps out of the portal when a very important thought occurred to him. He had no idea what he was doing,.. but he didn't care. He was in a corn field, that much he could gather. Must be a mewnian cornfield. There were carts everywhere, bulging with corn and tiny little potholes, about four inches in diameter pocketed all around him. Mewni's many moons made it very easy to see.

His mind raced. So okay, if Star had gone after Ludo she must have dropped herself off as close as possible to where he was. This, combined with her abililty to sense the wand, she should already have a pretty surefire way of finding him below in the caves… The caves were another problem he would have to contend with. In fact, him standing there was a stupid idea many, more familiar thoughts in his head advised him… but they were all currently being overruled by the new stubborn voice in his head. It egged him on, and he hardly had any experience dealing with that kind of forcefulness so he just went with it… it was odd, but he was here, wasn't he? We could call that progress.

He heard moans and groans start to approach him, quiet in volume and he instantly crouched down and brought his hands up. They had a low guttural rumble, and a slippery slithering tone oddly enough. It must have been monsters, who else sounded like that?

In an instant, Marco looked to the corn and ducked into it. Stupid plan. Hardly anytime to think… but it just seemed good. So good enough. He waited, absolutely still as the voices grew louder and Marco's hands and legs coiled like a snake as he started to make out bodies approaching.A mish mash crew of claws, wings, and arrowhead heads.

" _Mewman Punk…"_

 _"Ripped us apart."_

 _"She was angry dude."_

 _"I just want to know why."_

 _"She's a Mewmen man, what did you expect?"_

That was all Marco needed to hear, should he stay hidden? Maybe, but he was going out of his mind as well and these monsters knew where Star was so screw it all!

Marco burst out from the corn, the small motley crew had their backs to him and he yelled with such intensity that his voice cracked.

" _Wheres Star!"_ He thundered, and the whole group ducked and jumped, scattering slightly before turning to meet him. Marco took each one in for a split second. He saw a lizard with a long neck that was bent at a funny angle and a black eye. He saw a bat that came up to his waist, dark gray and bruised blue. A soil brown mantis with an eye shut and foot not quite resting right.

"Shove off punk." A monster spat at him in a high voice. She stepped forward and Marco sized her up. She was about his height, maybe a head shorter. She was reminiscent of a snake, a golden head with and almond shape eyes and two long ears protruding out of her back. A mat of long black hair with her bangs being dyed red. She had a leather jacket on that looked like it was sharp sometime in the past, but now was in tatters and ripped up… but she did look to be in better shape than her friends.

"Where is Star Butterfly?" Marco grumbled at her. If she didn't answer…

"She's below you." She said, mockingly.

" _Where is Star? How can I find her?"_ Marco loaded as much warning into his words as he could.

"Just go back the way we came. There's a cave entrance." She pointed behind him, the direction they were walking away from. "Now you could just leave us alone for once? Jeez."

At that, the group of monsters started to shuffle away. Marco didn't care at that point. He got what he needed and he sprinted off in the pointed direction. It quickly became apparent that Star had been through here as he came upon smashed carts and scattered cornhusks and kernals littering the ground. The stalks themselves knocked off kilter and the neat the rows the corn stalks were in were ruined. Signs of a struggle it seems, but knowing Star she probably handled that one easily enough

Marco hopped over a crater in his path, still smoking, and looking straight ahead he could see the cave entrance. It was a mound tilled up from the earth with a generous mouth easily could fit five of him shoulder to shoulder and the stalks were cleared away at it's mouth with barrels, ropes, crates, and carts all abandoned mid-work. Most of it was destroyed and Marco could see a few monsters cradling themselves, whimpering. He dashed inside and the staging area he was in transitioned into a sort of docking and receiving zone in a similar state of destruction like outside. There was a door at the end of the hall, the cave narrowed down to about a comfortable hallway, and he saw a door nearly blown off its hinges, a solid oak door that had it's top blown off and barely hanging off to one of it's hinges.

He had no idea what he was doing. He had no idea where he was going… but even so, every concern, every thought that told him to stop was answered by that little voice in his head, he realized that pretty much all of the time it was a stupid answer… but it was an answer that he went on. He hardly consulted his mind really with what he was doing, he just _acted_ and that was such a novel concept to him… he kind of liked it

Nonetheless, he took in information around him, making split second decisions. It was obvious that Star was through here. He was using her trail of destruction as more of a guide through the caves, and the nature of it changed he noticed. Not just breaking things, but also scorch marks rent and crossed around the rooms he went in… He burst into a dining area and careened right through barely even registering how the torn apart wood held a sickly green glow that burned his face as he neared it. He was vaguely aware of other people, or rather monsters, that were in the rooms he ran through, a part of him was awed. Did Star really clear out _everything?_

He ran for what felt like an eternity, but at some point he heard the first signs of life far ahead of him. Grunts and shouts, the sizzle of spells, walls reverberating as forces crashed into them, causing dust to fall from the ceiling. Marco redoubled his run. Star was close, and she was in the middle of a fight…

The pulse and beat of the battle got harder and faster as Marco approached, but in one particular room he skidded to a halt and nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard a violent _hiss_ of air nearby… He whirled around to the noise, fists raised only to freeze. Ludo's spider laying on it's side, eyes dim and bits of planks of wood resting haphazard on itself. She was hissing at Marco, but looked to have trouble getting up, her legs not coopearting. Another sound took Marco's attention, this one a squawk and he looked up to find the Bird up above him, but stuck to the ceiling with what looked like bubble gum.

"Okay good." Marco murmured, relaxing. The noises were pitched up to a rancorous volume and it occurred to Marco that she was probably in the next room over… He didn't waste anytime.

* * *

He blew into the room, no walls separated him from the sound of the battle and suffice to say it was grating on his ears. The room he went into was larger than all the rest, like the inside of a jelly bean with stalagmites and stalactites a plenty in the corners of the room. Almost seemed like a private study almost… He saw bed made from a burlap sack, with kernels coming out of a tear. An old dusty desk and his heart leapt in his throat when he saw the _spell book_ resting on it… But a haze of green magic surrounded it.

The signs of battle were evident all around him… the whole place looked like a bull had stomped through and Marco could instantly see the two combatants.

Ludo had rocketed himself up to the ceiling holding fast to a stalactite up above and laughing manically as he thought spells down to the floor where Star was dancing and twirling around them like a ballerina, finding the briefest of respites in between volleys to send bolts of her own up above, pinging and piffing off of the rocks above never really finding their mark.

"STAR!" Marco yelled, and a brief moment, Star stopped and looked at him in sheer shock.

" _Marco?"_ She said through heavy breath. Her clothes were torn in several places and her face was covered in dirt and bits of wood were stuck in her hair. Sweat gleamed off her face and the wand sizzled and crackled in her hand.

"Well _Hello There… HAH!"_ Ludo echoed from up above and both Star and Marco watched as he unleashed a violent blast of green. Marco jerked his hand up, telling Star to watch out, but very quickly realized that it wasn't heading for _Star_ but headed for _him…_

He jumped, but too late. The blast hit where his feet was mere moments ago, but the resulting blast was still enough to singe the slippers and the heat licking at his pants… his legs sung out in pain and the concussive force from the blast steamed up and clucked in right under the jaw. Felt like a boxer getting inside and delivering a wicked blow and Marco careened backwards and slammed unto to his back, vision going fuzzy.

 _"Marco!"_ He heard Star yell, but it was like cotton had been stuffed in his ears… either his legs felt cold or the burn was really that bad. He tried saying something, but all that came out was a garbled mess. " _LUDO!"_ Star screeched and a loud blast of green erupted from the ground. Marco tried to focus on anything on the ceiling, the bolt of green lightning was easy enough to focus on and it blasted into the roots of the stalactites up above rocking and shaking the cave. One particular stalactite fell and Marco vaguely heard a highpitched whine… Star must have gotten Ludo to come down.

Marco struggled to prop himself up by his hands so that he could get a better look. Star was standing over him crouched down and her wand was going _insane_ with green lightning that swirled and wrapped around its head, red angry cracks were on it's hilt…

" _S-Star…"_ Marco mouthed, He needed to calm her down… but he was too wracked in pain. A corona of green pulsated out, but it didn't come from Star, it came from in front of her.

" _EHEHEHE!"_ Ludo's screeching laugh raked over the walls. " _JUST WHAT I WANTED! GOOD! RIGHT ON THE EDGE! RIGHT ON THE EDGE!"_ Ludo shouted at them, his voice obviously strained and in pain… but it occurred to Marco that maybe that was the _point…_ " _I HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS LITTLE NUMBER… COURTESY OF YOUR LITTLE BLUE FRIEND…"_

"YOU ARE DEAD LUDO!" Star barked, but Ludo laughed, and began speaking… In a dual tone and the green just got brighter and brighter…

" **Come forth my monster, do you feel the sting? / The sting of the Mewman's Arrogance. / Their Magic. Their Pride. Digging, renting, twisting into your heart. / Come my monster, your time has come to take your revenge / Take your place upon the throne, my immortal king!"**

Ludo threw his wand down, and then everything exploded

* * *

" _So Dramatic…"_ Was the first thing Marco heard. The explosion had slammed him against the wall and he struggled to look out in front of him. Star had been cast to the side as well, but she was already on her feet by the time Marco could see again. " _Good Evening, Star Butterfly, Marco Diaz… Ludo."_

Marco stared straight ahead of him in complete shock, his heart skipping a beat. It was _… Toffee_ , standing in the middle of the room a soft green glow emanating from all around him. Hair still immaculate, not worse for wear… except he was wearing suit bottoms with a white undershirt still, which he was looking down on in bored disdain. "Had a plan. Doesn't go completely right. That suit was expensive too..."

Marco's vision began to settle and he could look clearly, Star was facing him down and without warning, she raised her wand and shot off a huge beam of green. Toffee didn't make a move and the beam collided with him, exploding out into sparks, but when it all cleared, he didn't look worse for wear at all, like nothing happened.

" _W-What?"_ Star stammered

"I was not expecting to test it so soon, _but if you insist_." Toffee sighed and raised his right claw, a blast of his own coming out, this one a dark icky black that Star had to cartwheel away. The blast hitting dangerously close to Marco… he could taste it, like bitter metal.

"What happened? What are you?" Star said, Marco had the same question.

"Nullifying that _wretched_ magic of yours." Toffee tossed out casually. "The wand cannot harm _itself_ now…" he placed a claw over his chest, giving it a pat.

" _My… Wand?"_ Ludo mewed, he had been tossed to the side like a rag doll and Toffee glared at him.

"No… I'm not a _wand._ I just took a part of it… returned the favor let's say." He said.

"What are you talking about?" Star demanded

"Oh I'm sure you've already _figured it out."_ Toffee dismissed her. "But that's not important anymore… nothings important now." Toffee began to walk and Star held up her wand in both hands, a spell readying itself. "You already know how that's going to go." Toffee said patiently. He passed right by her, giving her a sidelong glance. "Honestly, I don't consider myself the bad guy here."

Marco realized that he was walking towards _him_. Toffee stepped up before him, both arms crossed behind his back, he had a strange expression flash across his face… regret? "Still a disappointment?" He asked.

" _Excuse me?"_ Marco struggled to say. His legs were screaming at him… his pants were burned.

"Out of all the people in this world." He muttered, "It had to be someone like _you_." Startling Marco, Toffee reached down and grabbed him by the shirt, easily holding him up. He turned himself and Marco was hefted up, frozen in fear and pain… "Well Star Butterfly. I present to you your _king_." He let go and Marco toppled to the floor. Marco caught a glimpse of Stars face. She looked like she was ready to tear him apart…

"I'm going to count to three and you better start explaining yourself." She said, her wand crackling.

"I hardly need to do that." Toffee scoffed. "Again. I'm not the bad guy… Should talk to your _mother_ honestly."

At the insinuation, Star let off another blast, to no effect. She was still scowling though.

"… _Why?"_ Star dared.

"Because I am the rightful _King of Mewni. Not him."_ Toffee jabbed a finger at Marco. He had absolutely no idea what was going on…

"What does Marco have to do with this!" Star yelled

"Should have been nothing, _but here we are."_ Toffee walked away, brushing pass Star, too close, Star launched out a fist, but quicker than Marco could blink Toffee held up his hand and caught it, gently laying it back down at her side. "I would suggest not doing that." He said. "Ludo, get ready to go." He said as he approached the little guy.

"But… my wand?"

"Quiet about the wand."

"mmh."

Toffee turned to the desk and raised his hand, he snapped his fingers and the green haze fell away.

"You can take the book. Not like it matters… just _our Family History_ is all…" He said

" _Our_ Family history?" Star said, shaken. Toffee paused, then bowed

" _Toffee Butterfly, Son of Eclipsa, at your service. Mi-lady…"_ He stated.

No one talked for a few seconds, in shock. The silence stretched so long that Toffee coughed. "Yes. Well… anyway." He said. "I want you to go to your parents, let them know _Toffee sends his regards…_ and perhaps they'll realize why they shouldn't _meddle._ "

Toffee raised a claw, open-palmed towards the pair and Marco felt what felt like an invisible hand wrench at his shirt jerking him up. " _W-Whoa."_ Marco grunted.

"Marco!" Star reached out to him, but before she could him, Marco felt like he was _pushed forward_ sliding up into Toffee's open claw. Toffee grabbed him and only a few inches were between his face and Toffees… it struck Marco that he didn't look happy. Almost tired.

" _You are in over your head. Boy."_ Toffee muttered to him. He raised his free hand, the one missing a finger, and the very tip started to glow a deep, sickly green. " _You are no Butterfly… I hardly think you can handle this."_ He voice took on a dark edge… and then his finger touched the crown of Marco's head, burning.

* * *

Did he scream? He couldn't hear. Everything went dark as soon as Toffee touched his forehead. It felt like being prodded by a hot poker and a rush, a deluge of emotion seized him, a cacophony even. It was the weirdest sensation he had ever felt. One moment, he was perfectly fine, hurt, but fine.

The next, its like a hand reached up behind him and threw him backwards, stuffed him in the backseat of the car with a amorphous dark entity taking the wheel. He was only barely aware of his surroundings. He knew Toffee dropped him with Star screeching out in terror, but it just sounded so far away… like trying to hear someone through three layers of blankets. He wasn't in pain anymore… If anything, he _liked_ the pain. It made him feel powerful. The rocks digging into his sandals… felt like he could _crush them_ if he tried. The burning in his legs, he liked the tune they were singing… He was stuffed into this little little box… and he was terrified at what was happening.

" _OOOOH BOY Feels good to be out again!"_ Was that he saying that? It didn't _sound_ like him… sounded like that tentacle…

" _Marco!"_ Star yelled out… Marco couldn't really see what was happening. One moment he's in the room, the next he's drowning in black.

" _ROUND TWO!"_ Marco felt himself _twist,_ and next thing he knew. He was standing right across from Star and it felt like he took a swing. Star ducked and back flipped away, getting distance. He wasn't in control anymore, he sprinted after her and took swing after swing, sometimes he heard the gnashing of teeth, but from what little he could gather, Star always was one step ahead… and her face was a mask of horror.

He wanted to scream out, he could _tell_ what this thing was going to do and he wanted to cry out to warn Star but it was like his mouth was taped shut. All he could do was try and make sense of what was going on.

" _NOW COME ON! I'M JUST GOING TO EAT YOUR BOWELS!"_

Well that was disgusting… but yes this was the tentacle.

" _Yuck!"_ He heard Star say. " _Marco are you in there? I don't want to hurt you…"_

" _WELL I AIN'T GOING BACK YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!"_ He said.

" _… Wait a minute! I can!"_ Star realized, and after a brief pause Marco felt himself twist and squirm at unnatural angles, burning bright pink blasts arc'd across his vision, missing him by mere centimeters, but one blast did connect he felt. His vision went pink and a warm feeling rushed over him… but it dimmed.

" _NOT ENOUGH!_ **YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!"**

Then, all around him, his vision-starting turning white... an unbearable heat bearing down on him. He heard Star say something in _Mewni_ of all things. He didn't know what what she said… But he certainly felt the _spell_ shortly afterwards…

It was like being hit full force three inches away from a fire hose turning on. It ripped at his hair and clothes, a brilliant burst of heat rushed over him at blinding speeds… yet it didn't feel overbearing. It felt pleasant actually. Washing everything away, the wailing of the tentacle receding until becoming unintelligible and silencing entirely.

Then, Marco could finally see normally again. Star's eyes were dimming from white, with her wand burning brightly as well. She lowered the wand, and she rushed over to him. Marco's legs gave out underneath him and he crashed to the floor, Star reaching out to him and cocking his head so she could see him.

" _Star…"_ Marco was glad to hear that it was his own voice again. " _Are you alright?"_

"Are you?" Star asked.

"I… well, no." Marco admitted. He just hurt. He hurt all over… he wanted to sleep, but he couldn't. He needed to know. "Where's Toffee? Book?"

"Toffee left, Ludo to… book is still here." Star informed him. Marco tried to look around the room, but pain shot up his neck and he stopped hissing. "Please don't move…"

"Sorry… Star why did you leave without me?"

"I… just wanted the book back… I didn't want to disturb you and Jackie…"

"mmm… Star." Marco mumbled. "Me and Jackie… we're not together anymore…"

"What?"

"We aren't." Marco confirmed, his eyes were just about half-shut. "I'll… tell you about it later."

"Wait – Marco, you're not together?! What happened! When did this happen? Marco!"

But Marco wasn't listening anymore. He was tired. He was in pain. Knocked around… he was drained… his brain just couldn't process anything anymore and hit the shut off button…

That spell he was hit with… it felt nice, like a hug.


	8. A Choice You Never Had

The King of Mewni

Chapter Eight: You are Agonizing over a choice you never had.

"Too hot. This one is too bitter. You didn't let this one settle for long enough. This one is too sweet. I just hate this one." Miss Heinous clacked down the row of teacups that were laid out before her, ripping each one apart, much to Marco's gumption, but he was only half listening.

Inwardly, Marco was about ready to blow his stack. Drudging up all these memories wasn't doing him any good. If anything it was just riling him up. The conversation with Toffee he had just made him confused. He hated how the pirates treated him; he hated how he acted at the taqueria with Jackie. He felt like a mule, worse, an _ass_ … He wasn't even sure he was doing the right thing with all that. Did he treat Jackie well? With the respect she deserved? Did he even make the right choice here? It didn't seem that way to him… Heck his dense head got into a relationship with Jackie when _apparently_ he was just so _damned_ perfect for Star. He hated himself for not noticing, and now he had twisted up Jackie's heart.

"Disgusting. Bad. Minty." Heinous continued down the line, nearing the end. For goodness sakes he just spent over a week on _tea_. At first he was happy to do it, gave him a distraction, but now he just wanted nothing more than just to dump it in Heinous' beehive. Would clam her up about just how _sure_ she was about him and Star. That's another thing that got him. Everyone treated them like they were just a foregone conclusion… Even Star did now…

That. That really bugged him the more he was hit by it. Was this how Star felt _all the time?_ Was this what it was like to be a princess? Everything in your life decided for you, _a mere actor on a stage_ … Sounded like a dream to his indecisive butt, but eh, once you have it you understand just how much crap it is. He finally understood Star in some sense. This was junk… like, he just wanted to be platonic with Star from now on for no other reason than to just spite Heinous. Which was stupid! Yet that's how he felt… He actually did kind of like Star. If he was being honest with himself, like, he liked her _a lot_.

"What did you even put in this? Orange- No, Lemon? _Uck!_ So _banal!_ Lazy tea pairing!"

Yep, Heinous wins. Whatever. He liked Star, not that it mattered even. But the thing is… it's weird. He's never been nervous around Star, never felt pressured around her, he was just himself and She herself, which was the crazy part. Their friendship didn't _feel_ like work it was just _fun_. When did he start having these feelings for her? There really wasn't any moment he could point to and say _there it was_ … it just kind of happened. He's even thought about her, physical characteristics and all, and he _still_ didn't have any _fireworks_ or anything go off. Sure, it was like pleasant warmth, a heady cloud… but not like when he thought of _Jackie,_ the mere thought of Jackie could leave him tongue-tied. Thinking of Star? He just found himself giggling half the time at the latest and greatest mess up.

"Mr. Diaz, your teas are horrible." Heinous informed him, and Marco wasn't listening. Should put some belladonna in the next patch, that'd shut her up – well okay, he really should peel it back, because that would kill her. Let's not kill people we don't like now… honestly he's starting to sound like Star.

Wait – come to think of it, that little voice in his head sounded _an awful lot_ like Star.

"I am sorry." Marco sat with his legs bowed out, twiddling his thumbs and staring at the floor.

"Look at the person you are talking to." Heinous chided, and Marco paused before looking up at her, giving a big open-mouthed toothy grin with wide staring eyes. Heinous pursed her lips. Hah, got her. "That is not funny." She said.

"Sorry." Marco offered, dropping his goofy face. "Sorry about the tea. I'm just distracted."

" _Hm."_ Heinous' face softened. "Well I can hardly imagine why you would be distracted."

"I just am. Okay?"

"Why? Star and that _Lackie_ girl?"

"Her name is Jackie."

"Never mind that, why be distracted by that?"

"They're both awesome girls, and I just feel like I have to hurt one. I guess."

"Oh piffles." Heinous admonished him, clacking over and sitting in her easy chair across from Marco. "You hardly have a need for that. _You have Star Butterfly."_

"That's kind of not the point –"

"Who cares about Jackie? She's not important." Miss Heinous clamped down, and Marco leered at her.

"Jackie _is_ important."

"Not important to _you_. You have Star Butterfly." She asserted once again.

"I… don't?" Marco shrugged. Again, she's acting like this.

"You do. Whether you want to admit it to yourself or not. You have her." Heinous insisted. Marco blatantly rolled his eyes. He didn't care if she saw. In fact, he was kind of getting sick and tired with this song and dance with her.

"Okay." Marco started. "Just why are you so sure. Where is that attitude coming from?"

Marco threw the question out there, expecting the usual quick barb from Henious about his back posture or something like that. Although the barb never came. Heinous went totally silent, her face on the cusp of glaring at him, a sort of malicious _persnickityness_ was the word he would use, and boy was that a butchered word that Heinous would have a heart-attack over.

" _That is none of your concern._ " She said, her lips tighter than her purse.

"- Oh you have got to be kidding me."

"It is not." Heinous was firm. "You are the one telling stories here. Not me."

"So it's a story?" Marco said, and the way Heinous' eyes bugged out and brought a glove up to her lips was hilarious. Marco wasn't even trying to be manipulative, not his fault Heinous just blabbed stuff all the time. She's actually really bad at being discrete now that he thought about it.

"Well I'm not talking. _You are_ , and I believe you have a story for me today?"

"You already know what happens. You were there." Marco said, he was acutely aware that this was going to be his last day. Might even get out today if he could convince her.

"Hardly." Heinous killed off that line of thought pretty quickly. "You still need to tell me about you and Star. Surely you must have had a… _saccharine_ conversation and drowned each other in kisses or whatever it is the teen do these days..." Heinous, in the blink of an eye was looking down at a thesaurus… Why are girls around him able to just pluck stuff from mid-air half the time?

"We did not have a conversation."

"You must be joking."

"I'm not."

" _Piffles."_ Heinous cursed. "Then what in the world happened that day? What did you even do on her confirmation?"

"Again. You already know what happened."

"Oh just humor me. There _must_ be something…" Heinous spoke, and to Marco, it was almost like she was talking to herself at this point. He drew in a breath and closed his eyes. This was the last story, nothing else happened she didn't already know after this. Can't help but feel like she's going to be disappointed.

"Well, not a whole lot happened actually…. I mean, before all the _excitement."_

* * *

 _Star Butterfly | Jackie Lyn_

 _ **Pros |**_ _ **Pros**_

 _Best Friend | Crush_

 _Incredibly Fun | Super Chill_

 _Magic | Super Nice_

 _She's a princess. | Just… Super._

 _Helped with Jackie | Active_

 _Hair (?) | Her eyes._

 _ **Cons | Cons**_

 _Hard-headed | Kind of quiet._

 _Doesn't listen | Can't sit._

 _Spacey | Not Magic_

 _Impulsive | Idolized…_

* * *

Marco crumpled up the piece of paper he was writing on and threw it in the bin right beside his desk. It joined dozens of other paper balls. He let his pencil clack on the desk and mindlessly watched it roll off the desk and clatter to the ground. A few seconds later, his head lightly smacked into the desk and he rested it there, taking great pains to keep his breath under control.

For two days he's been going out of his mind, slowly letting his thoughts mulch and marinate over Star and Jackie. He's just about turned it over in his mind darn near a hundred times at this point and he still wasn't sure what he wanted. What he thought was right. No matter what, someone was going to get hurt he understood…

These was uncharted waters he was in. It's not like he had a whole lot of friends… Ferguon and Alfonso he never really _actively_ chose to hang out with. Honestly him and those two just kind of gravitated towards each other. They were all social rejects when they were younger and… well, as the say, birds of a feather flock together. Star was different though. She was the first one that held out her hand and grabbed him, leading him on whatever kind of idea she was at the time. Didn't matter if it was beating up monsters, hunting fireflies, sharpening swords, or experimenting with whether or not rose petals actually tasted sweet (They didn't.) Star was the first person he could honestly say was a true friend one he actively _chose_ to hang out with.

That's what made it so strange, so scary for him. He liked Star, but like, _really_ liked Star to the point where he wasn't sure if simply _friend_ fully captured what she was anymore. It's like she was a partner to him. Many times, she was like a child he had to corral, babysit even. Although sometimes… sometimes when she's in her element she utterly transforms into an _example_. Something he could imitate, something he so desperately wanted in his own life… and well, he got it, all thanks to her. A true queen in the making, in his opinion.

However, he could find just as many good things to say about Jackie. She was just about the most beautiful thing he laid eyes on. Nothing seems to shake her and that just – he has absolutely no idea how that can even be possible. Never let's life bother her, can flow like water through anything. Also introduced him to the same kind of passion for life that was reminiscent of Star. There was not a doubt in his mind that he could be happy with her and she would be happy with him. Then again, it occurred to Marco that Jackie was the kind of girl that could find a way to make it work with just about _anyone_. She's just that awesome of a girl.

So, he was deadlocked. Both girls were amazing in their own right. The kind of girls you could really just stick with and get to know them. All he needed to do was go to them and able to say _hey, I'm ready to devote the time to you_ and go from there and hope for the best. He didn't want anyone to feel hurt… He never really thought that something as inconsequential as _his time_ could have the potential to so drastically affect someone, yet here he was.

Worse still, this wasn't exactly a debate he could have with Star. This was something he had to figure out on his own, which wasn't too terrible. He's done that a lot in his life already, but even still, it caused migraines. Star was understandably beside herself when he had woken up after passing out two day ago. He had just kept it to surface details. Just letting Star know how it went and that they had broken up. Of course she wanted to know the details, but he kept a tight lid on it. That frustrated her to no end, but the alternative was simply unacceptable.

Marco scooted his chair back and rolled up his pants, gingerly touching his calves. It was a terrible habit he had picked up, but its not every day you suffer third-degree burns. His calves had been seared a very light pink, which looked so out of place on his darker skin tone, but there it was. Made showering a nightmare, he'd prefer showering with sunburn it was so bad… and trying to walk was whole other can of worms. He had elected _not_ to tell his parents, which was easier said than done, but he was able to do it so far. Just a day at a time…

A knock on his door brought him out of his thoughts, carefully rolling his pants back down and standing up, Marco was slow walking to the door. He opened it to see Star Butterfly standing there, holding up a hanger with multiple layers of clear wrap obscuring whatever was hanging on it. Star was wearing her blue vest with fuzzy blue pants.

"Hey Marco." Star greeted, "You busy or…?"

"Hey Star. No I'm not busy." Marco said, he was glad for the distraction, any distraction. He just took a step to make sure Star couldn't see the overflowing paper bin.

"Cool. So, I _mighta_ forgot to kind of tell you something." She said.

"Oh?" Marco wasn't surprised, wasn't even angry. They had not been on the same page as of late. He couldn't get mad.

"Yeah – But… well, it's kind of my _confirmation_ today." Star said, and Marco paused feeling his eyebrow going up.

"What's that? We got something like that on earth…"

"It's nothing big or anything… but it's just something my family does for new princesses with wands… after they've had the wand for a time. Think of it as just like _making things official._ I guess."

"Oh. Okay." Marco nodded, "what do you need?"

"Well… Okay… I didn't know about this, mom told me this just yesterday, but she kind of wants _you_ to be a part of it." Star fumbled.

"She wants _me_ to be a part of it?" Marco repeated back at her. What does that even mean?

"You won't have to do anything." Star said, "It's just that you're there… along with everyone else. I don't know Marco. She just wants you there." From her voice, it was obvious that Star was frustrated herself, so Marco wisely kept himself as neutral as possible.

"Well when is it?"

"It's at Five."

"Five…?" Marco droned, facing back into his room and looking at his phone on his nightstand. It was currently one o clock. "That's kind of short notice Star."

"Sorry." Star gruffed. "Didn't know you were going to be a part of it… But here." Star extended her arm, which held the clothes hanger and offered it to Marco. He took it, and instantly had it dip into the ground. Whatever it was, it was heavy…

"What is it?"

"It's clothes Marco. Wear them, _rather you not be naked."_ Star said rather abruptly... Something was off about her, but then again, there were a lot of things off about himself at the moment.

"Uh – Is there like anything special I need to consider or –"

"You don't have to do anything. Just wear them… You have scissors right?"

"I have some." Marco affirmed. Star had given him a pair, which he had stashed away in his nightstand drawer.

"Okay… just please come to Mewni at like four thirty. Okay? I gotta go get ready." Star teetered on her feet. Four thirty? That left him three hours of doing nothing… three hours alone with his thoughts. Not a good proposition there. He had no chores to do, no homework at the moment, wasn't hungry… chances are he's just going to laze on the couch mindlessly watching TV or let his current mental debate tear him apart. Whichever comes first?

"Uh yeah, I can do that… How long will this be?"

"Its all night."

" _All night?"_

 _"_ What? You'll get dinner Marco. Mewni corn."

"Well I mean, again Star, this is short notice."

"Well I'm sorry." Star shrugged. " _Don't be blowing up at me now."_

"Star I didn't – Okay… I'm sorry." Now it was his turn to fumble. He really didn't want to make Star mad. She's under so much pressure and he didn't need to contribute anymore. "Yes. I'm sure it will be _fun._ I'll be there." Marco said.

"Cool." Was all that Star said. "So… I'm just gonna _go_ now… remember, four thirty."

"I'll remember." Marco nodded, and at that, Star silently turned around and walked back to her room. Star's been a bit rough around the edges lately… but Marco found it hard to really blame her. Its not like he's been opening up about things… He really should get himself in order soon…

Marco took a look at the clothes hanger he was holding as his arm was beginning to hurt holding it up. He brought it over to his bed and began to strip away at the plastic covering, opening a hole in the top and pulling it down. He got his first look at what these clothes were. He stared at that for a moment before making a realization.

It was a suit and pants combination with another plastic bag that held some black polished shoes. Both the pants and suit were a royal blue in apparence and the suit had four golden cords stretched over the breast, and white rumples coming out of a breast pocket. The pants were long and crisply creased, not one wrinkle on the whole thing. It honestly looked stunning; the detail on it was nothing short of spectacular… But that wasn't what drew Marco…nIt kind of looked like the attire he was in from Star's Portrait from Star World when he was standing over the chair. Almost to a tee, even.

It brought up an interesting thought to Marco… if Star and him actually did… _get together_ he was going to technically be a king. Now there was an odd thought. Him, being royalty.

Marco set the clothes down flat on the bed. He didn't need to wear it right away. He still had three hours before with absolutely nothing to do. Nothing to do except swirl in a sea of angst over his burgeoning love life… Or, he could just go watch TV.

* * *

He chose TV and angst. Not by choice, but its just that he quickly found about three episodes into his show that he just couldn't drop the angst. Nothing was on with it being a lazy Sunday afternoon, and with daytime television he quickly found his mind wandering… and right back to the topic of Star Butterfly and Jackie…

He tried to imagine what a relationship would be like, there were a lot of questions like: Would he live in Mewni with Star? Or would Star live here? Would he be expected to actually _be_ a king? Any duties? What about that _Mewberty_ thing? He still remembered _that_ nightmare. Plus, this all hinged on the fact if Star actually _felt_ anything like that for him. He wasn't even sure about his own feelings for her. Marco hissed and took one of the throw pillows and _pafted_ it on his face. He hated thinking about this. He didn't want to think about this anymore… Someone knocked on his front door.

"… _I'll take it."_ Marco whispered. Whoever it was, they were going to get one awkward conversation and quite possibly an invitation for some milk and cookies. He needed something mindless.

Marco bounced up from the couch and walked to his door. He opened it, eager to see who it was… but when he did see who it was he wasn't sure if he should jump for joy or very slowly close the door again.

"Wassup _Wassup?"_ Oskar greeted him. He was wearing his usual torn brown shirt and some ragged khaki shorts, hair was still covering his eyes but Marco could detect the usual energy in his voice was about cut in half.

"Oskar?" Marco greeted him.

"Yeah man."

"Uhh… _whaaaat_ are you doing here? Star's not here at the moment." Marco asked. Was he here for Star…? Oh goodness, was he here _to get together with Star?_

"Oh no man, nah. That's… not why I'm here." Oskar surprised Marco. Oskar hesitated. "Just – need some help with something. Don't got a whole lot of people to turn to, y'know?"

"… You're referring to me?" Marco pointed a finger at himself. Was he really?

"Uh, yeah. I guess." Oskar didn't sound so sure. Marco hummed… He needed help with something? He needed to run away from his feelings for a time. Maybe they could work something out…

"What do you need help with?"

"Think you can help me _clean out my car?"_ Oskar turned slightly to gesture at his car, which was pulled into Marco's driveway. Marco craned his neck outside to see. Marco paused. Oskar's car was a _disaster_ he knew… but then again, he did pride himself organizing. This was an easy choice to make, actually all things considered

"Sure I can help with that." Marco nodded, stepping outside. He'd do it. This was _perfect_.

" _Dooope."_ Oskar smiled and then sniffed. "Uh yeah man, thanks. Shouldn't take too long."

"Actually Oskar. We can take as much time as we want." Marco grumbled and shook his head.

"Oh sweet." Oskar began to walk over to his car and Marco followed close behind. As he approached Marco looked inside his car to size up what he was getting himself into. The front two seats were relatively clear, but the backseats were virtually unnoticeable under a sea of clothes, trash, food, and other things he just couldn't even identify. Marco grunted and walked past Oskar and his car to go grab the trashcan that he kept behind the house. He returned a few minutes later rolling it up near the car.

"Okay – so let's get organized here." Marco clapped his hands. "We'll start in the back, and if something is trash, just toss it."

"Got it." Oskar nodded.

Marco opened the side door, and watched as some of his stuff plopped on the concrete and the smell wrinkled his nose. It was disgusting, but hey, he wasn't thinking anymore so there was that.

The pace was a crawl as Marco tried to negotiate the mess. Clothes he blanched at the smell and folded up to the best of his ability, but they were just utterly wrinkled. There was plenty of half eaten cartons of Chinese food, pizza boxes, moldy Tupperware, you name it, it was there that Marco happily tossed. Then there was a bunch of assorted knick-knacks like torn peace sign posters, tattered American flags, and dream catchers that Marco had to make judgment calls on.

Oskar proved to be a good help, starting on the other side and grabbing what he could. Both of them didn't speak as they worked… which Marco found didn't help; because again he found his mind start to wander the work was so monotonous. Before long, Marco just couldn't keep quiet anymore and picked the first topic that came to mind, even if it was small talk.

"… So." Marco started, smelling a sock. He wasn't going to find it's twin, was he? "What made you want to clean your car?"

"Ah snap! I was looking for this!" Oskar held up a foam finger. "… But eh, just thought it was time. y'know?"

"What do you mean, _it was time_?" Marco pressed. Oskar paused, his normal grin lessening.

"Well, y'know, I just wanted to get my car clean… " Oskar shrugged, but it sounded like there was more to it than that. "Kinda sick of seeing it be so dirty all the time… Lazy right?" Inwardly Maro agreed, but that would have been rude if he said anything out loud.

"Well. It's nice you're _picking yourself up."_ Marco said, and they both settled into a silence as they picked through the rest of the car. Oskar offered some little tidbits to think about which was helpful. He lost track of the time as they finished up the back seat. "Done?" Marco asked.

Oskar responded by moving to his trunk and opening it, showing a multitude of guitar keyboards.

"Heh. Nope. Got this stuff, although this ain't trash."

"Ah… Fine." Marco murmured.

It went quicker than he thought, most of them were the same brand, but different colors and sizes which actually made organizing pretty straight-forward. Although, about half way through, Oskar was the one to speak up.

"How you been man?" He said.

"Eh." Marco grunted "Fine."

" _Oohhh you don't sound fiiine…"_ Oskar sang. Marco bit his tongue.

"It's nothing."

"Oh dude it's okay. What's up man?" Oskar pressed, he had stopped and was standing next to the trunk. Marco looked at him, considering if should say anything… he's never talked with anyone about this, much less a guy like _Oskar_.

But… maybe it would be so bad if he did open up on this stuff, sure he didn't really know Oskar all that much, but then again he didn't really know a lot of people all that well, only person like that was Star and well he couldn't go to her with this stuff.

"Well… I suppose it's complicated." Marco started.

It was odd at first, trying to piece through his thoughts. An alien experience to open up, honestly. Oskar actually proved to be an incredibly optimistic and engaged listener. He never expected it from him, which made it easier to talk and open up. He ended up talking for what felt like an eternity as they worked, and the keyboards got neater and neater.

It felt nice, like a constant hand over his heart slowly starting to loosen its grip, allowing him to breath again… Something that occurred to Marco was if Oskar had any _intentions_ for Star, but yet; he didn't really care for that. He just talked, and it just started coming out like a faucet that had its handle broken.

He talked and talked, well past the point where the keyboards were organized and the car was in working order. Oskar had directed them both to the hood of his car and was leaning on his windshield, just taking in all the information that Marco was saying.

Eventually, Marco's words began to dwindle and trailed off into silence. He had no idea how long he had talked for… it felt different, yet not unwelcome to be able to speak like that…

"Whoa man." Oskar shook his head. "Deep."

"Eh… I don't know what came over me."

"Oh no man! It's all good!" Oskar was quick to assuage him. "Take it you don't talk so much."

"I don't."

"Yeah, I get it." Oskar propped himself up. "But dude – I don't think you should worry about it." Marco paused.

"You don't?"

"Yeah man – at the end of the day you gotta think about yourself and what you want. You know? Jackie and Star can handle themselves."

"I get told that a lot."

"Cause its _trueee dudeee."_ Oskar said. "You shouldn't worry so much."

They both sat there in silence. It was the same thing that Jackie told him… But hearing it again really started to drive the point home to him. He couldn't lie, he kind of felt better.

"Hey Oskar."

"Yeah?"

"… Why _did_ you not want to get with Star?"

It was a little thought Marco had carried around with him… and well, here was Oskar.

"Oh… Uh… that's nothing on her." Oskar said haltingly. "My life is a mess."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah dude. Um – parents divorced, mom's got this _boyfriend._ " He said, and Marco heard and uncharacteristically hard edge to his voice. "I kind of _live_ in this car. Y'know?"

"Oh…" Marco felt his stomach drop. Maybe this was a bad idea. "Sorry."

"No, it's okay. You open up. I open up." Oskar shrugged. "Just… y'know, _I gotta start making things work._ Not right to keep going like this, gotta make sure you're good before ya make others good right?"

"That's… well, that's pretty big of you man."

"Thanks."

"Like – _picking yourself up after ya fall."_

"Yeah. I guess." Oskar gave a small smile. They paused, and Oskar responded by jumping off the hood of his car. "Well. Thanks man for the help! I think I'm going to go home…" He said. Marco nodded and got up as well, fumbling off the hood.

"Uh yeah – yeah sure."

"Ummm. Wait." Oskar pointed at him, digging in his pocket. "Do I have your contact or something?"

"I don't think so. No."

"Ah man. Uh, you wanna exchange numbers?" He pulled out his phone; it was… a blue flip phone. Marco stopped for a split second, registering what he just said… did they just become friends? They just became friends didn't they?

"Oh. Yeah. Yeah. Sure." Marco hastily brought his phone out and they traded off.

" _Niiice."_ Oskar hummed, taking his phone back and pushing it back in his pocket. "Should totally talk, maybe hang out sometime. Y'know?"

"Yeah… Yeah!" Marco stumbled. Wow, he just made a friend… Oskar was his friend now… "T-Totally."

"Cool." Oskar pointed at him. " _Catch ya later man!"_ Oskar galloped around his car, slapping his head a couple of times like a drum before hopping into the drivers seat. He gave one finally wave to Marco who returned it before he started his now organized car and peeled out of his drive way. Marco was left standing there. Arm still raised.

He looked down at his phone, wanting to see the number he just got, but then he saw the time was four o clock…. His eyes nearly bugged out of his skull.

He needed to _get ready…_

* * *

Marco half ran, half yelped into his room, remembering the burns on his legs. He gingerly peeled off his clothes and struggled into the nice clothes Star provided for him. It felt scratchy. Although, when he got a look at himself he had to admit. He looked downright _handsome._ Star's family really knew style when they applied themselves.

He was feeling better towards Jackie and Star. Didn't feel as helpless with it. Still wasn't sure how to approach it… but maybe he was just thinking about it too hard. At the end of the day, Star and Jackie would be happy even without him… and that was actually kind of a liberating thought. Just about what would make him happy.

When Marco put on his shoes, he opened his drawer to take out the scissors he had and gave them a test snip, sparks coming off of them. The time was four fifteen… and he was ready to go.

He snipped at the air, creating a tear and pushed his fingers into it, pushed it open, and stepped through. He exited out in Mewni's peasant district, right at the stairs leading up to the artisans quarter. The village was divided up into four sections. You had the peasant district which Marco had stepped into, and then you had a grand spraling stair case that shot its way up into the sky. Leading into the what amounted to the middle class: the artisains quarter, then, led up to the Low Quarter, which were administrative and military, then you had the High quarter, home to the nobility, ending off in the highest quarter which was specially reserved for the royal family, Star Butterfly's house.

The staircase connected them all and Marco could see a veritable throng of people milling their way up the stairs being herded along by soldiers and guards alike. He craned his head all the way up at Mewni Castle. His scissors were not calibrated to go into Mewni castle directly, that was specifically for Star's pair of scissors.

He joined the tide of the crowd, slowly going up the steps. He passed by many things on his way up. For one thing, the citizenry actually looked _happy_ which was surprinsg. Children were laughing with ribbons and sparklers and adults were chattering and gossiping. Long solid oak tables had been brought out, ladened with food all featuring their signature crop: corn. Framed against the dipping sun in the west, it looked picturesque to him.

He came upon a gate where some guards were at attention, acting as a bottleneck for visitors. The people allowed through had garb that was noticeable richer than the surrounding peasants and Marco, looking down at his own uniform, shrugged and got in line. It didn't take long for a guard to notice him, face dropping in shock. He was scurried along with urgency with a hushed, rushed note that the ceremony was starting soon and he was expected. He tried to run, but keep it smooth enough so his legs didn't chafe, which was easier said than done.

He was directed up the stairs, all the way up to the very top where he was immediately greeted by the imposing walls of Mewni castle that had long rich blue banners hung off it and a courtyard that was transformed into a little patio party. Cocktail tables with the laughing relatives of Star's family, servants milling to and fro around them. Each person looked like a piece of art walking around in well tailored suits or perfectly curved dresses and coiffed wigs. A band of strings were softly playing a slow dancing tune and lamps had been strung from strands that were not lit yet, but held the promise of dancing under the moonlight. Marco was impressed by it all.

He was whisked away through the sparse rich crowd, many of them broke conversation as he passed, giving him a curious stare which he returned with a glance. They had no idea who he was… yet he was dressed like them. He was ushered past the massive doors leading directly into the throne room of Mewni castle where a din of hushed conversations punctuated by loud chuckles dominated the room. Marco was instantly drawn to the throne dais, and sure enough, he saw Queen Moon and King River sitting on their thrones engaged in their own polite conversation with a huge imposing man that was wearing nothing but a speedo and a vest made from the pelt of a bear along with a short round lady in a aqua blue dress and fat potbelly face.

Not really knowing anyone else, Marco decided to walk towards Star's parents. He got up to about half way up the steps before the four people noticed him. River was the first to respond.

"Marco my boy! _Haha!"_ He laughed, rushing down to hook an arm around him. Although he was pretty short and the arm was hooked right on his butt. "Don't you look _smashing!"_

"Hello…" Marco nodded towards him.. Queen Moon gave a small bow of the head and a soft smile.

"You look lovely Marco."

"Thank you." Marco bowed back.

" _Hoh!_ So this is the _string-bean!"_ The muscular man boomed. "Winner of the flag game huh!"

"This is whom Star has been _consorting_ with?" The stout lady said.

"Ahh come off it ya hag." Muscles dismissed "He's just a boy!"

The lady sneered at him.

"You fail to understand what it means to be a _Butterfly. He doesn't look the part."_

"Iris. Please." Queen Moon chastised.

"Sure I do! I just gotta kill any sense of fun I got!" Muscles guffawed. Iris gasped in indignantion and began to walk down the steps her nose upturned. Marco had to step out of the way and Moon slapped her face.

"Bear Bug. Please leave." Moon said.

"Not my fault –" Bear Bug began to say, but King River coughed.

"Ah-hah, please just go Bear Bug. Stouts later, alright?" River said. Bear Bug looked between them, totally at a loss before blowing out a breath.

"No fun you all are…" He said before moving down the steps himself. Marco was left alone with Star's parents.

"Well. Sorry about that." River apologized

"Indeed. My family can be… stiff." Moon offered.

"It's alright." Marco didn't really care all that much. "But it is pretty nice here. What's this all about?"

"Oh it's nothing much Marco. Just treat it like a party is all." River said quite exuberantly "Get to know folks… that kind of thing. Introduce yourself."

"River don't drown him." Moon gently prodded him, and then addressed Marco. "Marco, this is Star's _confirmation,_ a little kingdom family affair where we just confirm Star's proficiency with the wand."

"Star mentioned something like that." Marco nodded

"Indeed, but don't worry Marco. You simply will just be standing here, _with us_ during the ceremony." Moon explained. "You've earned it after all."

Marco paused, didn't know what to make of that.

"I earned it?"

"Well of course!" River injected "You've been such a good friend of Stars! _Wouldn't be surprised if you just start dating her –"_

" _River."_ Moon chided, and River clamped on his mouth. Marco, almost felt a blush grace his cheeks. He's easily discounted that stuff before… but now calling attention to it had a bit more plausibility to it. "- We are sorry Marco. River has very few barriers." She said, giving a pointed look to her husband.

"No, it's uh – It's alright." Marco fumbled.

A harmonious peel of trumpets caught all three of their attention. Twin heralds on either side of the door lowered their instruments and Marco felt Moon gently touch his shoulder, pushing him.

"Oh, the procession is about to begin… Marco stand to the right of us, like so." Moon directed him a ways so that he was a respectable distance away from them. River and Moon situated themselves right in front of their thrones and right at the top of the stairs. River had his arms behind his back and stood up straight and Moon held her hands palm over the other and resting right in front. Marco kept his eyes on the doors as they opened.

" _Here ye… Here ye…_ " A herald announced, he sounded kind of bored, but maybe that was just the thing with them. " _We are pleased to welcome you all to Princess Star Butterfly's confirmation. Furthermore, we are proud to present the procession for this evening…. "_ The herald, whom was reading off of a scroll, began to recite a plethora of names, with each of them moving into the throne room by way of a wide alley the crowd had created. It included commanders, dukes, and barons. He read off artists, masons, lords, and ladies. They all paraded into the room, each wearing a more extravagant costume than the last. Marco watched it all, but he felt a little removed from it. At times he could hardly believe that this kind of thing was happening in his life in the first place. How in the world did he even get to _have_ a girl like Star be his friend? He hardly could believe his luck… and heck, it might even be something _more_ he still needs to think about it.

"… _And now, ladies and gentlemen of the court… "_

Could it really be that easy? Asking Star out on a date? What about Jackie though? Would she be all right?

" … _I present… "_

Would he even be happy with Star? How would all this even… work?

"Get ready Marco." Moon whispered.

"Old Boy. Star's next."

He wasn't sure…

" _Princess Star Butterfly."_

* * *

At the mention of Star's name, Marco was startled out of his thoughts and he refocused on the doorway… and, well, to be frank he was _blown away._ In that moment, in that particular moment of time that Marco stared at her… He had his answer.

It was Star, but in a way Marco had never seen her before. She was decked out in this long flowing blue dress adorned with white rumples and exquisite folds with poofs on the shoulders and it bowed out at the hips, like her mom's dress. She had on dainty blue heels who's clacking was the only sound heard in the room as a silence blanketed everything. Her hair looked like a veritable army had tamed it, gone was bland blonde sheets. It was crimped, tied down, curled in all the right places. Parted and bunched in others. It… well, honestly, it should have been a mess, but somehow, they made it look _gorgeous._

From the way she looked to the way she walked. Star in that particular moment _exuded_ a certain kind of _gravitas_ he's never felt before. Her head was held high, and her eyes were at half mass and her mouth was set in a regal little pout. It was like she was walking in the air, calmly judging that on the ground. This wasn't simply Star, this was a _princess_ … with all the trappings.

He must have been openly gawking at her at that point. How could he not? It was like feeling something _ignite_ right in the very core of his heart. Nothing blazing, very small in fact, but it was there. Like a little candle just barely catching on the wick. _He wanted Star…_ At least… he wanted to _give it a shot._

Star Butterfly tapped her way to the middle of the room and suddenly stopped. She was clutching her wand in both hands an was holding it firmly against her chest, like she was afraid to let it go. She calmly looked up at the dais, at her parents. So very subtly though, Marco saw her tilt her eyes towards him… and for what felt like an eternity, they both looked at each other.

Then, Star's little pout melted away into a frown. Her eyes, which looked so emotionless before started to shimmer… She looked so sad.

" _She's not supposed to stop."_ Marco half-heard what Moon said. He was too focused on Star… her wand was beginning to spark.

 _"Star?"_ Marco mouthed.

" _Uh… maybe she's nervous."_

 _"River, your daughter is never nervous."_

Star loosened the grip on her wand and broke the stiff little posture she was in, allowing the wand to hang at her side held in her right hand. The sparks began to get brighter.

"Star. You need to come up here." Moon spoke up, beckoning to her.

Star didn't move however. Instead, it almost looked like she was starting to cry.

"What in blazes –" River began to say, but was cut off when Star shouted in a cracking voice.

" _Marco. I'm sorry…"_ She said, raising her wand. _"- I just… I just can't do this."_

A collective gasp shot through the crowd and Marco felt a great multitude of faces turn to him. Marco, for his part, felt ice cross over his heart. What was she doing? What did she mean?

Marco shot a look over at Star's parents who were staring back at him… and for a split second they had a mask of _horror_ on their face. A kind of blind-sided terror that took him aback.

" _Raspberry Lasso."_ Star intoned and a bright pink beam shot out from her wand and headed directly for him. Marco jumped back and tensed at the lasso stuck to him realizing just a second too late exactly _where_ the lasso had stuck.

With a mighty heave, Star wrenched her arm back and Marco heard a sharp tear come from his pants and watched as the _scissors_ he had looped to his pants snapped into Star's free hand. It was then, that Marco put two and two together…

" _Star… WAIT!"_ Marco's shout tore out of his throat. He couldn't believe it. She didn't mean that!

"Star!" Moon echoed

"Pumpkin?" River was just confused… and then a second later it dawned on him as well. " _Now now sweety… let's not do anything rash here –"_

 _"FAREWELL… TORNADO!"_ Star yelled at the top of her lungs, pointing the wands face directly at Marco and he felt the bottom of his stomach drop as he watched a swirling mass of angry wind start to coalesce at the wands face… he saw the tall tell sign of a portal at the eye of the storm. This was seriously happening… he was frozen. He didn't know what to do.

The crowd scattered away from the aisle and pressed up against the walls screaming and yelling in pandemonium as the twister began to engorge itself… and then Marco started to feel it begin to snip and bite into his clothes, starting to drag him.

" _Star STOP THIS AT ONCE!"_ Moon yelled, but her voice was lost to the wind as it strengthened and Moon teetered dangerously, leaning back against the force. River had jumped for his throne and was currently grasping his wife's hand.

Marco wasn't so lucky though. The wind's strength had grown at a blistering pace and even with all his strength; Marco could start to feel his shoes start to skid. There was no stopping this, Marco realized, he couldn't talk. He couldn't hold onto something… to his horror, the wind was going to win.

He felt his feet leave the ground, and all he felt around him was the snapping wind assaulting his face and tearing into his clothes. One moment he was in the air, the next he was tasting wood flooring. The wood flooring… of his bedroom.

Marco snapped to his feet, stumbling all around him mind going haywire. The portal was gone. He didn't have scissors. He was _alone._

 _Star had rejected him._

* * *

Sitting on Heinous' easy chair, Marco let the last words of his story dwindle off into silence and he stopped. Olga, for her part, was sitting in the chair across from him dutifully keeping quiet, eyes screwed on him while he talked. He kept silence for a full two minutes before Heinous made any kind of move, blinking.

"Well don't keep me waiting. What happened next?" She asked.

"Nothing." Marco said. "That's the story."

"Nothing?"

"Yeah."

"Nothing at all?"

"Yes."

"You didn't find a way to talk to her? You just… let it be that way?"

"You grabbed me a day later." Marco supplied, at that Heinous became flummoxed.

"Well – I had _assumed_ that you had at least _said_ something to her!" She shouted, getting just a little manic. "Do you really mean to tell me that that is it?!"

"That's… it." Marco said drily. He had tried texting her like two hundred times, but she wasn't answering her phone. He had spent the rest of that night going absolutely out of his mind and didn't get any sleep that night. Heinous' bailiffs had nabbed him early the next day and he was here ever since.

"IMPOSSIBLE!" Heinous screeched, startling him. "THAT IS SIMPLY IMPOSSIBLE! YOU LOVE HER!"

"I'm only fifteen. But yes, I do really like her. Like. _Waaay_ like her." Marco finally admitted it to her face. Although Heinous didn't seem to be in a position to gloat. If anything, admitting it just seemed to get her _angrier._

"So if you love her! _Why did you do nothing!?"_

"What was I supposed to do? I had nothing to reach out to her with."

"You could have found a way! Isn't that what love is? _You two are meant for each other!"_ Heinous suddenly stood up from her seat, and huffed. "How? HOW? WHY EVEN?"

"There was no way." Marco said, leaning back in his seat as Heinous became more inconsolable.

"PIFFLES!" Heinous screeched. "Absolute Piffles! You _need_ to be with Star. _You don't have a choice in the matter!"_

At her yell, Heinous cut herself off abruptly a look of plain shock starting to blossom on her face. A pin could be heard in the silence between them. Now Marco would just chalked it up to her just raving… but with the way she looked, it prompted Marco to start thinking…

Olga Heinous had been so blessedly _sure_ about him and Star from the moment he had stated talking to her. She – heck – everyone around him were more than happy to treat him and Star like an _item_. Not only this, he also recalled Toffee's words of _meddling_ … and well, Heinous _was_ Star Butterfly's family… it all started to point to what Marco strongly suspected was a one million dollar question…

" _Excuse me?"_ Marco started.

"Nothing – disregard what I said."

"Olga Heinous, you know I'm not just going to disregard what you said. _What did you mean?"_

"I mean nothing."

"Absolutely untrue. There is something going on here that you are not telling me."

" _It is none of your concern."_

"I believe it's very much my concern." Marco shot back, and Heinous leered at him, with a clenched fist shaking.

"If you are going to be so _dense_ with your relationship with Star. Than I see no point!"

" _Your Grace._ I've already told you my story, and now you know where Star and me stand. Yet you seem to think being _friends_ with her is not enough. Why?" Marco needled, and Heinous glared at him, shaking.

"You simply can't be friends. Not good enough. You will condemn us all." Heinous said.

"Well I'm fine with it. Heck, I don't think I even have that at this point."

"That cannot be. That shall not be. That was never the _idea…"_ Heinous said under a massive amount of strain. She took a few trudging steps towards her easy chair and pitched backwards, sitting down with a _pompf_ of air. She looked at him in quiet disbelief. "You don't get it. _You are our only hope._ "

"… What is happening here?"

"Star is the greatest _risk_ our family has seen for a very long time…" Heinous breathed. "She _should_ have gone through conditioning. _I was right."_

"Heinous. Focus."

"You will watch your tongue."

"I will not!" Marco shoved back at her. "Heinous stop beating around the bush and tell me!" Marco shouted and for an instant, Heinous was taken aback… the fire in her eyes long since snuffed out. She stared at him for a very awhile not saying anything and Marco waited.

Heinous with a blank look, reached out to her side table, gently plucking a teacup and absent-mindedly look into its contents, thinking.

"It was a _brew…_ I'm quite good at them." Heinous began. "She used to be much worse than who she currently is… so much so that I was all but ready to _break her down_ before she took the Wand... A bit earlier than tradition dictated, but she needed it! My sister _knew_ that it had to be done. Yet that dreadful husband of hers poisoned her mind, gave her _ideas_ …" Heinous said and her blank face broke into a dark frown.n"Instead of conditioning… River decided to take such an _insane_ gamble in retrospect…. Imploring me to concoct the _Red Ribbon Brew."_

"What is that?"

"A _potion._ A _brew_ … so much like tea… it points you to potential partners _. Soul mates…_ and like an idiot, I agreed. _"_

Marco felt his heart skip a beat, and his breath come up short.

"We thought we'd find a whole _multitude of suitors._ Invite them to the castle. Give her free reign… _Love_ would mellow her, he advocated. Do you know how many suitors there were?" She asked, but Marco didn't answer, as it sounded dreadfully close to rhetorical. "… Well. You were the only one that came up. The only one. Haven't you ever thought it strange how we chose earth? How Star lived with _you_ of all people? It was all planned." She said.

"Planned."

"Yes. Planned, you were meant to fall in love with Star. It's the only way."

"Only way for what."

"The only option we have left to ensure Star isn't a _total_ disgrace like _Eclipsa_. Star is simply too old for conditioning to take now." Heinous said, a bit of her old sour tone returning. "Really. I would take _you_ over _Star_. At least you show an interest in _proper etiquette._ Yet I am not so lucky… So you must _mold her."_

"Excuse me? I ain't molding Star."

"Yes you are. Just as she's molded you. _That's the point."_ Heinous sneered, "It happens without you even noticing… The whole point of _all of this_ was so you _molded_ her, kept her in line… provide her with what she _needed."_ Heinous spoke her words like they were dipped in poison. "Now. Do you get it? Do you understand why Star's been _cleaved_ into your life? It was no accident of fate… Never is in the Butterfly family…"

Heinous finally fell into silence, watching Marco. Marco listened, feeling his lips purse and starting to drum his legs. He understood. He also thought it complete and utter crap.

What a hag! What kind of aunt was she?! Star didn't need a dang thing from anyone. She was perfectly fine as she was! Honestly what he just heard had him so riled up he barely couldn't even pick a starting point. If one thing was for certain though… He finally, totally understood Star on a level he never had before.

Here was someone giving him a template. A play and a role. Here was someone giving him _structure,_ but what that structure was left a bitter taste in his mouth and he could feel his gut reject it! Every voice, thought in his head both new, cautious, and impulsive banded together to form one a thundering rebuke. This was crap. This was crap. This was crap.

The pirates were crap! The Blood Moon was crap! Heinous was crap! Toffee was crap ! Toffee had bad hair even, like no sense of style! The only reason why he didn't go any stronger with his words is simply because he knew his late grandpa would slap the ever living _stuffing_ out of him.

He saw another way. Whether Heinous realized it or not, but it was there… Star may have rejected him _in that way_ but there was nothing stopping them from being friends! Star didn't need him, but he sure as hell _wanted_ to hang with her! Would Heinous hate it? Good. Fantastic! Like, he _wanted_ that! For no other reason than to watch her squirm…

Marco stood up, staring hard at Heinous' blank stare. That wretchedly business-like stare.

"I will be going now. The story is finished." Marco said in a low, cutting tone.

"… Just like that?"

"Star has made herself _clear_ with me. She does not want me in that way, and I'm going to respect that. As should _you_." Marco declared, and he reached out with a hand open. "Now please. Give me scissors, or whatever. I am done and I want to go home."

Now, Marco was only fifteen. Heinous looked like she was pushing five hundred so she wasn't impressed… bored actually from the looks of it. Although Marco kept himself alert. He's been with her for so long he _knew_ when she was angry… and behind those sunken blank eyes was a pulsing _inferno…_

Heinous took a sip of her tea, a long draught before releasing.

"In that case." She said, she lowered her teacup and raised a hand right above it, outstretching one gloved finger. She dunked it into her teacup, giving a few deliberate swirls… and Marco started to hear clinking and popping and dry white smoke began to curl off of the cup's lip. Heinous fixed Marco with a pointed stare, raising her teacup in her hand so that it was over the floor. " _This was pointless."_ She said.

To Marco's shock. Heinous tilted the teacup over, spilling the contents, which had taken up a chilling blue hue and dry icy smoke. The liquid splashed unto the stone floor and before Marco could blink, ice expanded out in a thin sheet in a perfect circle from where the liquid hit. It happened so fast that the ice started to crawl and stick to his ankles before he could move. The whole floor was iced over… and try as he might, he couldn't get his feet out. " _I see a way still that you can be useful."_ Heinous stood up from her seat and walked gracefully over the ice. She had absolutely zero problems moving… even in heels. She approached Marco and walked past him. Marco caught a glimpse of her cheeks, which she was rubbing viciously at a dark spot. " _Mr. Diaz… Princess Diaz… The one who destroyed my school and it's reputation. I see a… shall we say, promotional tour in your future."_

Heinous circled around him, speaking in an unnatural icy melodious tone.

" _I shall rebuild it all by breaking the one who broke me… How poetic I suppose."_

Heinous crept into Marco's view, and the icy sneer she gave him was one that was perfected over decades of lessons and repression.

" _Then… I shall consider you graduated."_

"Miss Heinous. You just _baited and switched me."_ Marco simply said, temper flaring.

" _Indeed. I told you as much didn't I?"_

"No – you made a – you know what? Never mind."

" _Indeed."_ Heinous said, smiling rather sourly. " _Now, would you care for a pink dress? Or Blue dress?"_

"Miss Heinous… Mi'lady, I must speak with you." Both Marco and Heinous heard a new voice come from the door. At once they both turned to it to see Stein standing in the doorway, his hands were behind his back and he had a small frown on his face.

" _Stein. I am busy."_

"I can see that Mi'lady… But I must speak with you."

" _Later!"_

"… Well I can't."

" _Why. Not?"_

"Because…" Stein spoke, and at the point Marco's eyes bugged out of his skull as he watched a figure appear behind stein. Large and intimidating, much larger than the bailiffs. Stocky with feathery white skin adorned in sleek orange armor and a helmet that had two cracked orange horns protruding out of his head. "The construct failed, and now we are under arrest for inter-dimensional abuse." He finished.

 _"What?!"_ Heinous screamed.

"DOWN ON THE GROUND DOWN ON THE GROUND DIRT BAG!" The figure started to roar, stomping in the room with the ice started to melt and crack at his feet. He wasn't stopping.

" _You will not touch me! Stay back! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!"_ Heinous started to say, but it fell on deaf ears.

"I AM THE _LAAAWWWWW!_ " He thundered.

Then, Marco watched as Heinous got tackled as if she was holding a football.


	9. Can't Keep Running, Star

The King of Mewni

Chapter Nine: You can't Keep Running from Your Feelings, Star.

* * *

Whoever this was. He was enjoying himself.

" _Unhand me! You cur!"_

 _"_ TELL IT TO THE JUDGE!" He roared back, easily holding both Stein and Heinous in his arm. For the record, he's been spouting off this stuff and was thoroughly enjoying himself. It was amazing. He just stomped in and took out both of them, and they were currently walking past the iron gates of the reform school and out among the gnarled trees.

A fiery orange portal hissed right outside and unceremoniously, the guy chucked both Heinous through the portal. Once done, he whirled around to address Marco.

"IT IS MY PLEASURE TO SERVE JUSTICE ON THIS DAY. DO YOU FEEL PROPERLY VINDICATED?"

"… Yeah. I guess."

"THE DEED IS FINISHED." He said, he reached behind his waist and produced two items. A pair of scissors and a piece of paper. He roughly handed both items to Marco who barely cut them. "PLEASE FILL OUT THIS QUESTIONAIRE REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE TODAY. ALL COMPLAINTS, GRATITUDE, OR OTHERWISE SHALL BE DIRECTED TO MY COMMANDING OFFICER, HEKKAPOO. THESE SCISSORS ARE GIVEN TO YOU UNDER EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES. PLEASE SEE HEKKAPOO AT YOUR EARLIEST CONVIENCE FOR EVALUTION ONCE YOUR TRIAL PERIOD IS OVER."

Marco had barely any idea what he was saying. Who was Hekkapoo?

"Um. Thank you I guess."

"YOU ARE WELCOME. DO NOT ABUSE THE SCISSORS. HEKKAPOO SENDS HER REGARDS!" He commanded. With that, before Marco could say goodbye he rushed in the portal and it winked out of existence. Just like that… Marco was free.

He looked down at the scissors in his hand. The blades were brass and so glossy he could see his face in it with an orange handle. He could go back home… if he wanted to. Or… he could do something else. He could confront Star. Perhaps it would have been smart to go back home. Rest up. Eat…. But he had to admit it, he felt different now. He didn't _want_ to wait. He was impatient. Or maybe that was just the little voice egging him on, Star's voice always egging him on… either or, it didn't matter it was apart of him now, and he accepted it for all it was.

Marco snipped the air, creating a tear in the air. A teal and white portal opening before him.

No matter what happened, he was going to make sure He and Star understood each other. He was _going_ to get his friend back. He had to stop feeling sorry about himself… if one good thing about his conversation with Heinous did was that, he could see that now.

Marco put the scissors in a loop on his pants and stepped through the portal, seamlessly moving from the reform school grounds to Mewni's peasant village… The peasants never really cared for what happened with royalty, so he was largely left alone. He walked a couple steps, idly thinking until his steps slowed as a particular thought occurred to him… He eyed the scissors on his beltloop, he shouldn't let what happened _last time_ happen again.

Snipping another portal, Marco leaned inside to his bedroom. Exactly as he left it and placed the scissors in his nightstand. Just for insurance sake in case Star did anything before he could get a word in… Also there was no turning back, but he thought it appropriate.

He leaned back to Mewni and let the portal collapse behind him. From the peasant village it was impossible _not_ to see Mewni castle as it towered over all. All Marco had to do with look up and slowly make his way towards the spiral staircase he went up just over a week ago… He was off put by the fact that it's only been a _week_ essentially…

Eventually, he did make it to the spiral staircase and slowly began to climb. He walked past all quarters easily enough. A few curious stares here and there as he walked, a few hushed whispers… He wasn't stopped until the entrance to the royal castle itself, gated off and manned by the little half-men guards that came up to his neck. Marco stood in front of a pair that was sizing him up. One was on the right, while the other was on the left.

"Halt. What business do you have here?" The one on the right asked.

"I would like to meet with Star Butterfly. I am Marco Diaz." Marco responded. He hadn't thought about this part. Wasn't even aware he was going to get into something like this… but he plowed on.

"What business do you have with the princess?" The one on the right said. Marco noted that the one on the left moved from his post and into a little turret tower to his side.

"I just need to talk to her." Marco said.

"Did you make an appointment? Do they know you're coming?" Righty asked.

"They do not, I didn't think I had to make a reservation… Isn't there like a court or something?"

"Court is held first thing in the morning." Righty said. "It is over now, you'll have to come tomorrow."

Marco sighed, he wasn't waiting that long.

"Please, I just need to talk to Star… don't you know who I am? _Marco Diaz?"_

"Do you know who I am?"

"No."

"Then there you go." He finished, "Come back tomorrow."

" _Hey Steve?"_ Both of them heard a new voice, the left guard coming out of the turret tower holding a piece of paper. " _That wouldn't happen to be Marco Diaz would it?"_

"Heck if I know Gary." Steve shrugged. "But yeah he identified himself as Marco Diaz." Gary joined them, still reading the paper squinting.

"Yeah. I think it is. We have a sketch of him." Gary flashed the paper to reveal a face of Marco Diaz himself… It was drawn in marker. "Also some orders… From Star… She wants us to… Uh…" Gary read the orders back to himself silently before finishing. " _Scare him by threatening to chop him up into little pieces, but don't actually do it because we don't seriously want to do that. That would be bad... We just want him to run away. Got that?"_

"Gary I think you just defeated the purpose of that order."

"Well I wasn't going to do it Steve, I put orders from Star not really high on my list of priorities…"

"Boy you're lucky your commanding officer isn't around to hear that."

"You two." Marco cut in. He was getting annoyed. What the heck kind of orders were those? "Can I just go see Star?"

"I told you what you have to do. Just come back tomorrow." Steve insisted.

"Yeah, or like, we'll be forced to cut you. Or something."

"Gary, what did I just say?"

"I'm trying Steve, unlike you."

"Whatever. Mr. Diaz, I'm sorry but we just can't let you through."

"Yeah. Sorry man."

" _Oh yes you are letting him up there!"_

The trio looked up at the voice they heard. Another half-guard was leaning over the side of the gate wall, glaring down at them.

"Larry?" Steve said. "What are you talking about?"

" _Let him up!_ What did you think I said?"

"I know that, but why?"

"Cause if not for that guy, _I'd be cooking in lava_. You have nothing to worry about from him!" He declared, "As your commanding officer, I'm ordering you!"

"Wait – this is the guy that saved Larry? Dang!" Gary exclaimed. "Sorry man! I forgot!"

Steve was slower on the uptake, staring up at Larry before cocking his head slightly.

"Huh." Steve said. "Well… Orders are orders I guess. Open the gate Steve."

"Of course!" Steve didn't need to be told twice. He rushed into the turret again and Marco heard a great clank and the gate shuddered as it retracted. The way was open mere moments later.

Marco nodded to the two guards and raised a hand in thanks to Larry up on the gate. Larry returned the gesture.

" _Tell Star I said Hi! You can get an escort upstairs!"_ Larry shouted as he left them behind.

* * *

Marco wasn't disturbed at he made it the rest of the way. Guards would openly stare at him, but they didn't stop him, which led Marco to believe that Star's orders were probably just given to the gate guards… all the best for him.

He made it into the inner sanctum courtyard, the throne doors rising to meet him. There were more guards he found standing at the doors whom he was able to get directions from. It was weird walking around the castle alone. Odder still that he had such free reign with guards and servants making up the majority of people. Although he did see a lot of other nobles coming to and fro.

Now they blatantly stared at him as he passed. They must have been close enough to the incident to remember him… He did his best to ignore them all. He was there for Star and Star alone. He wasn't nervous, it was only Star. Even if he plainly had feelings for her, she was never a person he was overly concerned with. He just knew her too well at this point.

He had asked a pair of guards to take him to Star Butterfly that were standing outside the door. After an initial conversation and a little name-drop of Larry. He was able to get them to guide him through the convoluted castle. The adornments and decorations were grand and airy, but Marco kept his focus mostly at the ground and at his feet. He was steeling himself for when he met Star. She was a boar most of the time, hardheaded, stiff-necked with a big heart. He couldn't afford to be wishy washy or meek around her. He needed to be firm and state his case. He kind of needed to be _like Star_.

As soon as that thought came to him, he repeated it back to himself endlessly. A perfect summation. He needed to be like Star… and just totally go after what he wanted, his friend.

They rounded a corner and the guard in front of him slowed at a rather large dark brown door. He turned to give Marco a slight boy and headed off, leaving Marco alone. He stood in front of the door, if he strained to listen, he could hear a muffled _toc_ … Like someone was chopping wood in there. He had nerves, to be sure, but he was squashing them and pressing them into a black hole. He needed to be confident. He's got this… He's got this. He can do it. It's only Star.

Marco reached out to the door and with just enough pressure, opened it a crack and as silently as possible slipped in.

 _Toc._

He saw Star Butterfly at the line of a line of targets. A rack of small throwing axes were at her side and she methodically picked one up and with a wind up, threw it towards the target… Getting a better look it looks like she was trying to make a smiley face out of blades.

 _Toc._

Marco breathed in deeply. Star hadn't noticed him yet… that's good at least. He crept closer.

 _Toc._

Star took another one and wound up and without warning, whirled around and sent the axe sailing through the air, Marco felt the swish of air from the blade over his ear.

" _AIYE!"_ Marco yelped, hopping to the side.

"Next one is chopping off your ear Marco!" Star yelled, pulling another axe off the rack. "I don't know how you got here, and I don't care. Go home!"

"Star I –"

Star sent the next axe hurdling towards him, Marco froze as the axe went wide and clattered against the stone wall.

"I'm serious Marco!" Star scrambled to pull another one off the rack, none too gently and the rest felt to the ground in an ear-splitting clatter. "I'm serious!"

"Star I just want to talk." Marco said. Star responded by hefting the axe over her head and Marco watched as it slipped out of her palm and lobbed over to the target behind him slamming into it blade first and tipping the whole thing over.

"… I meant to do that!" Star yelled, snapping to her side and sprinting to a bench. Her wand was resting on it. She plucked it off the cushion and tipped the bench over so that the cushions were facing out from Marco and Star hopped over it and crouched down leering at Marco in her makeshift barricade.

"I just want to talk. What's gotten into you? Why are you acting like this?" Marco implored, but Star didn't budge.

"I'm not interested Marco! Go away!" She hefted the wand in front of her, charging it up. " _I'll make you go bald!"_

"Well I am interested. Star be reasonable, and _talk to me_. Did something happen I'm not aware of?"

" _MEGA NARWHAL BLAST!"_ Star shouted, and Marco's stomach dropped as a fat narwhal rocketed out of her wand and collided with him with a salty smack.

" _Ahhgh…."_ Marco patted the side of the narwhal. The wind was knocked out of him.

"Whoa there! Sorry bub!" The narwhal blubbered. "Guess I missed the monster."

"Narwhal. That _is_ the monster. Good job." Star said.

"Wait a minute _what – "_ The narwhal began to say, but Star dismissed him before he finished.

With the weight off him, Marco struggled to prop himself up. His stomach sang in pain, but she was going to have to do a lot more than that to get rid of him.

"Star. _I thought we were friends… Best Buds…"_

"Well we can't." Star spat. "So go."

"Why?" Marco spoke in hushed disbelief. Just like that? No reason?

"Because… Uh - Marco… it's too dangerous for you!" She threw out there. "I could get you _killed_ or worse!"

"Star… I don't think there's anything worse than dying."

"Oh there is _Marco!"_ Star shouted. "You saw what happened with Toffee. _I almost lost you… everything!_ I can't be a friend with you."

"Star…" Marco said, taking a half step towards her. That felt like an odd reason, unlike her… kind of like a _Marco_ reason… "I don't care about that… It all worked out didn't it?"

"Well… Yes." Star faltered, but steeled herself. "But that was only one time Marco! Before it was _fun,_ but now? Now I'm not having _fun._ I can't guarantee anything, and if I can't guarantee, I'd never forgive myself if something happens to you." She finished and her wand began to spark again. "Now please… _leave."_

"Star." Marco hesitated. "I'm not – I'm not leaving."

Something itched on his mind… It just felt like a flimsy reason to him. He's risked himself before with Star. That wasn't exactly new.

" _Cupcake blast!"_ Star shouted and Marco threw his hands up in his face as crystal red cupcakes clunked and clacked off of him. Hitting in the stomach, eye, and cheek. Marco felt the wall rush to meet his back and Marco huddled himself at the hail of cupcakes.

" _Star!_ I don't care about that! _I trust you!_ " Marco shouted, and abruptly the cupcakes crumbled away into glimmering butterflies with Star standing rigid behind her barrier. Face pale.

" _What."_

"I – I trust you." Marco repeated, slowly relaxing… he didn't throw a punch, but he might as well delivered a round-house kick with how Star looked.

"You… Trust me?" She sounded like she didn't even believe it…

"Well. Yeah. I trust you." Marco offered. He thought that was obvious.

"… _Oh no no no no no no no…"_ Star began to murmur. " _Marco no, you just – no. That's not good. I am not ready for that. No. You don't trust me. You shouldn't"_

Star… I mean I do trust you. Trust you with everything because I know you'll give everything for me… You've already done this?" Marco tried to make it explicit. It was tough, he thought that they were on the same page with this… No, they were on the same page with this. It didn't make sense otherwise.

Star stopped babbling and clammed up. Staring at Marco for a second in disbelief before hunching down totally behind the barricade.

"Well we _still can't be friends Marco."_ Star persisted. "We won't _stay friends."_

Marco clicked his tongue on the roof of his mouth. Sounded familiar.

"The blood lovers?" Marco said. That must have been the reason why. Even then, it was something Marco thought about a lot and he wasn't going to let something like that spoil his relationship. "Star _don't worry about that…"_

"Well I am!" Star rebuked. "I don't want my whole life decided for me, okay? Who I decide to be with was one of the few choices I thought was my own to make and now even _that_ feels like it's not my choice!"

"Our friendship?"

"Everything Marco! Don't you get it?" Star railed.

"I wouldn't call our friendship an act now." Marco started to trudge into the thorny subject. It wasn't. They may have been _cleaved,_ but Marco rejected that their relationship was anything but genuine. There was not one faked feeling or hug about their relationship.

"Our friendship isn't an act… I don't know Marco…" She failed to clarify.

He could sympathize with Star, way more than she even realized. Also, he dared not go into anymore-intimate details on how _he_ felt. Star was obviously uncomfortable with this and Marco didn't want to upset her anymore.

"Star. You _still have a choice and you always will."_ Marco said. He put a clamp down on his feelings. Star didn't need to hear that right now. In fact, perhaps Star just straight up wasn't interested in him _in that way_. He could respect that. A relationship does not define him. "Please, just forget about the whole blood lovers thing. It's not important."

"Marco…" She still sounded unsure.

"Believe me Star. It doesn't mean a thing." Marco pressed. "At the end of the day. You will choose whom you want, and I will be there for you at every step of the way. Cause you're my _best bud_ … or like, _mess up twin."_ He made his choice. He'll have plenty of chances. Plenty of other times, but Star? Star was going to be his best friend.

"… You just want to be friends?" She asked.

"Yes."

"Just friends?"

"Yep."

"Nothing else?"

"Nothing else Star. Just friends." Marco was confused where this was going…

"… You don't _feel_ anything?" Star asked, and Marco was taken aback, startled even.

"No. No I don't." Marco almost stumbled… That was kind of close. "You're my friend. That's it…. Why? _Do you feel anything? Heh…"_ Marco didn't like the spot light on that and tried to crack a joke, break the tension with a tease.

He just wanted to tease her.

* * *

All it took was two seconds of silence for a pit of nerves to start to bundle in the bottom of Marco's stomach. He started to sweat and the half-smile on his face died as the two-second silence stretched into what felt like hours.

Star's expression was a sheet of glass, a nerve-wracked blubbering frown, and if Marco looked close enough she was vibrating softly. In the very center of her eyes, Marco saw cracking hearts and her cheeks were glowing a soft pink color… It happened for two seconds, and in a snap, it all disappeared before Star went perfectly still before giving a whimpering laugh.

" _Hah… Yeah… Sorry, yeah, nope. We're just friends."_

Marco openly stared at her. Nope. That wasn't true. That wasn't true one bit. She was lying. _She was lying._ She was lying. Holy crap she was lying. The little pauses. The little hitches of breath. The little jitters. The slightly long pauses when they talked about Jackie… All those little moments over the past few weeks were slowly brought to light and reexamined and to Marco's shock it was starting to see it all in a new light.

She never did have a crush on Oskar. That whole _heart of hearts_ dream… That whole build up to just an Oskar statue? That wasn't it at all! Blowing up at him about Friendship Thursday? Blood Lovers? The anniversary dinner? Her fear about the blood lovers? It wouldn't make sense unless she _already felt something._ It all coiled up and wrapped up into a tight ball of realization…

Star liked him… Star _has_ liked him. All this time. It was clear as day!

" _Uh – Heh…_ okay you got me. Marco, I guess I am worrying over nothing… _We can be friends still._ " Star hiccupped and to her credit looked to the entire world like herself again… but it was too late. "You know. You really are good at helping me." Star continued but Marco wasn't listening. He just stared.

"Marco, you, ah, just going to keep staring at me?" Now Star sounded strained. Her eyes started to dart to and fro, and she started to sweat.

" _Star."_ Marco heard his voice come from far away. "You… _don't_ have feelings right?" He asked slowly.

"… I don't." She said and Marco heard the little hitch again. "Nope."

"You sure?"

"Positive." Star nodded, going completely blank. Marco cocked his head back.

" _Hm."_ Marco put his hands behind his back and started to deliberately walk towards her. Star, to her credit, didn't budge at all. He walked to right across from her, the only thing separating them was the barricade. Star was standing up at this point and Marco leveled a look at her and she returned it. He kept the stare silent for a few seconds, and Marco began to see her shake slightly… so very slightly.

" _Star._ " Marco leaned forward so that their face was mere inches away from each other and closing down to centimeters. " _I don't quite… believe you."_

Marco held the distance for a deliberate second before finally stepping back… He could plainly see now that he had gotten to her. That small shaking was now getting violent and her blank face was starting to crackand her cheeks puffed up like a frog.

"Star. _You like me."_ Marco declared out loud, and it was like poking a pin to a overstuff balloon. Now, he thought he had won. Finally got through to her, but he never could have anticipated what happened next.

Star jumped back, her entire poise breaking out into a panic and screamed a long high-pitched note, sounding like two metal sheets being torn in half with a saw. That wasn't the worst part though. In her panic, she whipped the one thing that was in her hand, her Wand.

The last thing Marco saw was a manic Star and a rather hefty Wand hurtling straight towards his face.

* * *

Marco's vision swam into focus and his head felt like it vibrating in pain.

" _Agggh…"_ He moaned.

"Oh you're up." He heard Glossaryk. Marco felt something cold press against his forehead. "Well can't say I agree with your methods."

"… _Glossaryk?"_

" _Coooor-rect."_

He blinked a couple of times. Glossaryk was standing over him, holding a small frozen fish to his head. The little blue man was grinning at him… Marco could almost see up his robe.

"What happened?"

"Well… you figured it out and she knocked you out." Glossaryk summed up. "I imagine she's probably locked herself in her room. Three floors up, end of the hall on the right."

Marco propped himself up, fish falling to the floor. He still felt a little dizzy. His eyes swam around the room. Star was nowhere to be seen… but her presence was easy enough to see. The room was a wreck, dumbbells, targets, training dummies were strewn all over the floor and the door was hanging on by one hinge and had nail marks all over it.

Marco also saw the wand resting innocently a few feet away from him and Star's giant spell book resting right beside it, opened to a page.

"Yeah – don't mind me, I'm just here for the wand." Glossaryk followed his eyes. "You should probably get going, you know."

He struggled to his feet and held himself there for a little bit. Getting his bearings.

"You say she's in her room?"

"Three floors up, end of the hallway on your right."

Marco nodded and started to run towards the door. But his foot caught the spell book and his face went straight into the page.

"Well. I mean you should _look_ where you're going… or perhaps wait, I think I put it there… Never mind." Glossaryk said.

" _Muuuuh…"_ Marco grumbled, lifting his head, but then he stopped.

It was him, a scibbled drawing of him on the page. A fat oval colored dark tan for his had topped with a dark brown splotch. A scratch rectangular red for his hoodie…

A depiction of Star Butterfly was drawn to it's left. Light green, peach, and gold hair. In thin spidery black cursive were the words: _Return to me My Love._

"Thank you for your help with _that one."_ Glossaryk said over his shoulder.

"… What is it?"

"Eh. I think it's like a panaceas spell of sorts. I don't know." Glossaryk shrugged. "Important part is that it's _Stars."_ He said, and Marco looked at him surprised.

"Wait this is _Star's spell?_ She made this?"

"Mhm… a very powerful spell at that. Of course it took a lot to get it. What with the book-napping and all."

"This was all part of your plan?"

" _Haha…_ well sure, if you want to call it that. _Plans end in a rather predictable way, but when done well, you don't care."_

Glossaryk was looking at him, smiling, and Marco picked up what he was kind of getting at. He was getting better at picking up subtext with him… and he didn't want to leave it al that.

" _We'll make our own plans."_ Marco said.

"Hah! Marco my boy, you really surprise me sometimes!" Glossaryk said. "I imagine you must know everything now?"

"I do and I don't care. I will decide what's best for me, and Star will do what's best for her." Marco got up and started to walk out the door.

"Good luck!" Glossaryk called out to him as he turned down the hall.

* * *

He marched up the stairs and down the hall three floors up. It was pretty easy to tell which door was Star's room. Because it was decked out in glittery ribbons, crayon drawers and paper machete snowflakes were the words _Star's Room_ blaring in bright pink words at the top of the door.

"Star." Marco called out. He waited for a few moments, but there was no answer. He tried knocking on the door.

" _Go Away."_ He heard her Star muffled voice.

"Star come out please… I'm not grossed out if that's what your worried about."

" _Just go Marco! I'm never coming out!"_

Marco sighed and reached for the door. Locked, course it was.

"Star please you're being ridiculous!"

" _No I'm not! Marco, we can't be friends anymore… It's all ruined…"_

"Of course we can be friends!" Marco shouted… heck, now that he knew about Star's feelings he actually felt strangely relieved. "Star, nothings changed between us!"

" _Yes there is… You know everything now."_

"So! So what?" Marco was getting frustrated. He didn't want to have this conversation with a door between them. "Star _I'm coming in there."_

 _"No no no!"_ She started to shout, but Marco was already backing up. He glared at the door and took in a huge breath through his nose and sprinted at the door as fast as he could.

He collided with the door with his shoulder and all it did was buckle and Marco sunk to the floor his shoulder feeling like it was shattering. " _Marco what are you doing?!"_

"What do you think I'm doing?!" Marco yelled through the pain. He didn't care if this took him sixteen years. This door was being disrespectful and it was going down.

He steeled himself and backed up again. This one was going to be harder, he launched himself at the door. At about three steps away, to his shock, the door opened.

"Well stop it then –" Star grumbled.

He couldn't stop.

He got tangled in limbs as he bowled into Star and they rolled into her room. Ultimately the fell on the floor with both of them cast on their sides looking at each other. They were close enough that Marco could lightly feel her. Star could also feel it to, and Marco saw her face flush red.

" _Off Off Off Off Off!"_ She started to scratch at him.

"Sorry! _Sorry!"_ Marco scrambled away as fast as he could. He rolled so that a good two feet were between him and Star. Once he was far enough away, Star stopped her arms and folded them on each other, still lying on her side and glared at him.

"The heck was that bub?"

"I… wanted to break down the door."

"The thing is like two feet of solid oak."

"I believed."

"Well just stop believing." Star said and rolled herself all the way across the room and under her bed.

"Star come out of there."

" _This is how I'm going to do it Marco."_

"… Fine." Marco hefted himself to his feet and truded over to the bed. A big four poster bed with blue sheets. "Star you know I'm okay with it all right?"

" _How can you be?"_

"Because we're friends."

" _How can we still be friends? You know I like you…"_

"Well. Yeah, I know that. It was kind of shocking." Marco admitted… he was waiting for a good time to sort of let her know that he felt the same. "But who cares? It is what it is."

" _But it's not real."_

"Blood lovers again?"

" _Yes Marco. That's why I am so hung up about it. I like you and I think it's not real..."_

Marco blew out a breath.

"Well – you know Star, I hardly think it's fake."

" _Why?"_

"How can it be? We've known each other for so long. Grew a lot together. I learned a lot from watching you." Marco talked. It was all a matter of coaxing her out.

" _We did, but that's good for friendship. How did this turn into… all this then?"_

"Probably just because we've spent so much time together?" Marco said, and he was also sort of trying to justify his feelings as well. "Star I really don't think this is anything to worry about."

" _Well I do worry about it Marco. I know you don't really understand, but when someone tells me I 'have' to do something. I hate it. I hate it so much. It was so weird… I started feeling like this when you went on the date with Jackie and it's been torture watching you, waiting, hoping for a horrible thing to happen… but then the whole blood lovers thing happened and it's like everything went upside down."_

"… I'm really sorry Star." Marco offered. Hearing it come out of Star's mouth. How small her voice was, it really hit him. She's been feeling like this for a long time. "But I still think you are worrying over nothing. These kinds of feelings don't just come all at once, you know. It's built slowly over time… Which I would say it has in your case. Nothing to be ashamed of, or worried about."

 _"… You really think so?"_

"Of course." Marco said. "… Star can you please come out? I want to see you."

Star didn't say anything, but after a few moments her head did poke out, with tears streaming down her face.

"Hi."

"Star… come on up. On the bed." Marco patted his side. Star obliged by rolling out and climbing up. She sat next to him but she didn't meet his eyes, hunched over.

"Are you sure you're not freaked out?" Star asked.

"No. I am not." Marco insisted. "Please don't cry. I don't want to see that."

"Sorry…" Star wiped at her eyes. It helped little so Marco stuffed his hand down his hoodie sleeve and gingerly held it up close to her.

"Here. Just rub." Her said. She paused, but did lightly press her face to it.

"How are you not freaked out?"

"Because you're my best friend. You do a lot of things that freak me out… This isn't really one of them. Kind of normal in all honesty." Marco shrugged. Still waiting for the right time…

"I just – I just am worried. _Is it because of the blood lovers or what?"_

"Like I said, I don't think it's like that Star… There's plenty of stuff from last year that could have done it _without_ thinking about any kind of blood moon or otherwise."

Star had stopped crying, but she still was hunched over, clutching at her hair. She was really frightened.

"I'm scared that we can't be friends anymore."

"We can still be friends."

"… I'm not to blame what happened between you and Jackie am I?"

Marco paused to think. He hadn't really thought about it. But he guessed from a cosmic sort of point, she was kind of to blame… but he wasn't going to hold that over her head. There were both as lost as the other.

"Nah… Star, I broke up with Jackie for my own reasons." Marco kept himself vague. Almost in a position… "I broke up with her because I needed some time to think about something."

"About what?" Star asked.

"About how I wanted my life to go. What I wanted for a change."

"… Isn't Jackie the one you want?"

" _Hm._ " Marco shrugged. This was actually kind of fun, dancing around.

"That's not an answer."

"It is. It's a _unsure_ answer." Marco clarified. Star looked at him, still not really sure. Kind of a wreck honestly. "She said she wanted to _spend more time with me_. Do more active things."

"Well what's so bad about that?"

"Cause I would have not spend as much time with other friends…"

"I'm like one of your only friends." Star said, and Marco didn't say anything and her mouth opened in realization. " _Ohhh_ wait you're referring to me."

"Yeah. Turns out I'm not too sure about that."

"What does that mean?"

Marco gave her a sidelong look. Was it time to say it?

"Means what it means."

" _Marco,_ come on."

"All I'm saying."

"You're not saying anything Marco."

"Well – how about this then. _What do you want Star?"_ Marco turned it around on her. "Knowing what you know… Would you even want to _be_ with me?"

"What does that mean?"

"Means what it means." Marco kept being difficult. It was a little selfish, sure, but he felt like he's earned it a bit. He wanted to know Star's thoughts.

Star ruminated for a very long time.

"I… don't know. _Would you even want something like that?_ I know I'm totally weird."

Marco paused, watching her... Guess this was it. Couldn't keep dancing around it.

"… _I might."_ Marco said.

At those uttered words. Star's look at him totally emotionless until the implications of those words started to sink in. Her pupils got really, really wide.

 _"Marco what does that mean?"_

"What do you think it means?"

"Marco stop doing that."

"Doing what?"

"That!" Star whipped out a hand and hit him in the shoulder. " _What do you mean!"_

"I mean what I said I mean." Marco said, and he couldn't help it. He smiled and Star just got more riled.

" _Why are you smiling – Marco! MARCO DIAZ! WHAT ARE YOU SAYING!"_ She was hysterical and Marco decided that that was enough.

"It means… That when I watched you walked into that throne room a week ago _I started feeling the same way…"_ Marco finally said it. Star went as still as a statue.

" _You… do… ?"_ She said like a slide whistle.

"Yep, I like you to." Marco said. "Don't need a blood moon to tell me that."

Star wasn't really saying anything. She was too busy mushing her words in her mouth and it made Marco chuckle. "So. Star let me say this." Marco kept a tight handle on the conversation, because Star was busy melting down. "Now Star, even though I say that please understand that it's still entirely your choice. No matter what you say I hope that we can be friends no matter what and –"

Star clawed at his hoodie, eyes sparkling.

" _Yes."_

Before Marco could really tell what was going on, Star had thrown her head at him and pressed her face into his and Marco felt her lips kind of mush on his. He had no idea that it was happening… and well, he wasn't even sure Star knew what she was doing either. Yet, he realized it after a second or two that they were _kissing._ This was kissing.

It felt warm and Star felt soft and Marco was intensely aware of everything around him at that very moment as his forehead started to heat up. His lips were stiff and he wasn't about to soften them anytime soon… Star just gobbled him.

Star broke away, and Marco sucked in a breath, greedily gulping in air. Star's sparkling grin instantly melted into horror, pure shock.

" _Uh… Sorry."_ She said. Marco smacked his lips a couple times. It didn't register with him that that just happened. " _Ohhh no I messed up…"_

Marco looked to Star, then all around the room. That really just happened… was he okay with that? " _Marco I'm sorry…"_ Hm. He actually was okay with that. He turned to Star, who was babbling something or other.

He reached up a hand and lightly placed it on her cheek. Slowly, he sent himself forward and lightly pecked her on the cheek and was delighted when the little heart he had hit glowed with a deep pink light. Star had gone silent.

"Well… I suppose that settles it then." Marco said. "Hah. You're stuck with me."

Star looked at him blankly, and Marco smiled back at her. He felt lighter than air. Didn't know how Star felt, but that was okay. It was actually kind of hilarious watching her trying to deal with this.

She stood up suddenly and turned on her heel towards her opened big turret window and began to walk. He watched her go, puzzled, but still happy. She walked until her front foot caught the little balcony and without missing a beat fell right out the window, plummeting downwards. Marco wasn't smiling anymore.

" _STAR BUTTERFLY!"_ Marco rushed to the window, and leaned his entire front body out in the air looking down wards, and just as quickly wrenched himse back inside as Star Butterfly started to rise up past the window. The biggest smile on her face and her whites glowing white with her cheeks doing the same. She was laughing and hiccupping at the same time.

Astounded. Marco stared up into the sky as she flew. She went so far up that she became a small dot among the clouds, glowing every brighter until it was almost like Star really did become a _star_ in the sunset sky.

A strand of light bled off her and arc'd across the sky glowing white, but quickly morphing to a bright orange, exploding out into sparks of purple. More soon followed, all starting orange but hissing and and popping out in their own color: Purple, red, green, blue, violet, and more. Marco started to laugh.

They were _fireworks._

Even against the sun, the fireworks were brilliant. An intense display of color and sound that filled the whole Mewni sky with Star's ever-brightening glow at the center of it all. Marco watched it all, not sure if he should laugh, cry, or both. In that moment, nothing mattered. Things have definitely changed in his life, and it was not going to get any easier moving forward… but he had Star watching his back and he was going to do the same.

Huh, if he doesn't get killed or worse… he might actually be a _king._

* * *

END


End file.
